Harry Potter and the Mysterious Magical Bond
by TrekTech
Summary: Harry Potter shares a legendary and not fully understood magical bond in which one being exists in two bodies. The challenges of life at Hogwarts, finding parents, and making friends awaits. The ignorance and blind beliefs of the Wizarding world is all that protects them from being studied and a fate worse than death delivered by Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1

A.N.  
Thanks to Sakura Lisel for posting some wonderful reviews! A question was posed about why Sarah would simply go along with Dumbledore placing Harry and Rose with the Dursley's, this is my update to try and explain that, and changed it so she didn't simply go along with it. If I get enough reviews and questions, I'll just update and revise the chapters as appropriate, but feedback is welcome.

I'll be following cannon very closely, but with my own surprises here and there. I don't expect to many readers, but if you're willing to stick with it, cool.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I know the Harry Potter world isn't mine, so do you. But fan fictions are free, and as such, anyone is free to rewrite, repost, remake, this fiction in their own image if they like. I prefer to be sited as the original author, but if you don't want to do that, that's okay, too.

Chapter 1 Beginnings

August 2, 1980.

"Oh, thank you, Sarah." Lilly Potter said in sheer relief.

Sarah smiled back at her as she held Harry in her arms. She was quite pregnant, and though Harry had been born only two days prior, he hadn't stopped crying.

"It's no problem." Sarah responded. "I wonder why he stopped crying when I held him."

"I don't know." Lilly said.

Sarah suddenly gasped and said, "Oh, I think it's time."

Lilly took Harry from her, who instantly started to cry again and squirm around as he'd been doing the past few days.

"Shh, Harry, shh." Lilly said, all the while trying to get to the fireplace.

One hour later found Lilly and James Potter, Sirius Black and his wife Sarah, along with Remus Lupin at St Mungo's hospital. Sarah was gripping Sirius's hand quite hard, though he didn't mind.

"Just a little more." He said encouragingly.

Sarah let out a violent snarl. She was a werewolf along with Remus, and due to that, had needed some convincing from Sirius to even travel down this road. Watching her, he knew it would be worth it.

"You don't know how it feels!" She shouted.

"I do." Lilly said gently, touching her shoulder. "Just a little longer, Sarah, it'll be over and it will be worth it."

She gazed down at Harry, who had stopped crying but would start again if he was brought too far away from Sarah.

With a shout, Sarah gave one hard push, trembling in pain. She shouted in pain again as her grip on Sirius's hand tightened so powerfully he felt as if she'd broken some bones. The Healer helping them smiled as a little girl was revealed, who coughed and fluttered her eyes open.

"Congratulations, Sarah and Sirius. She said. "It's a girl."

"Rose." Sirius breathed. "You're so beautiful."

The Healer handed her to him. She seemed content as he dried her off and held her, staring down into her beautiful face. Her eyes moved aimlessly around the room and she squirmed a little in his arms. After a moment, he handed her to Sarah.

"She's so beautiful." She said as Lilly, James and Sirius gazed on happily.

Rose suddenly let out a sound that was almost a shriek, violently twisting and struggling. Harry screamed and Sarah shouted in surprise. Acting on a sudden idea, Lilly put Harry near Rose and pulled their hands together. Both stopped crying instantly and started sucking on each other's fingers, a powerful golden glow forming around them. The Healer gasped in surprise as the glow grew brighter, then faded. Harry appeared asleep but Rose was still awake, eyes wandering aimlessly as she stared. With excitement, the Healer pulled out his wand and ran some diagnostics, then said, "I'll offer Congratulations again. These two are soul bonded, a rare thing to happen at birth. I warn you not to hide this from either of them and not to attempt to break the bond. It's a rare and treasured thing for two people to have. I can recommend a few books for you to read, but I'd recommend keeping them as close as possible to each other. From the strength of the bond, it's probably best if they grow up together."

"Why?" Lilly asked.

"Because if they don't, it's likely they'll be lost and grieved without the other, so much so that it will probably effect their ability to function." The Healer said. "I recommend reading the book entitled Soul Bonds And Magic, written by a magical pair of soul bonded named Julia and Dan Parker. I believe that will answer many questions for both of you."

"Thank you, we'll do that." Lilly Potter responded as Sarah Black gazed at the two children, who both looked content.

August 4, 1980.

"So, Sirius, want to be Harry's godfather?" Lilly Potter asked as she held both her son and Rose.

Sirius grinned and said, "I'd love to!"

"And don't you go teaching him any of your tricks." Lilly said firmly and warningly. Sirius widened his eyes in an innocent manner.

"Lilly! I would never do that!" He then grinned and chuckled. "Besides, you already know I would and you asked me anyway, so..." He trailed off and Sarah Black gave him a light slap on the head.

"Behave, now." She said with amusement.

"Here, Sarah, let's try this again." Lilly said and Sarah gently took Rose from her and held her in her arms. Both children whimpered at the loss and squirmed, but didn't cry.

"Well, that's improvement, I suppose." Sarah said. "What are we going to do about them, should we keep them together all the time? I just don't know if that's wise and I want to have some time alone with my daughter."

"I understand that, I feel the same way about Harry." Lilly said, ruffling her Son's hair.

"Maybe we should try a night or two in our own homes rather than taking turns as we've been doing." Sarah said.

"Okay." Lilly responded hesitantly after a moment.

As it turned out, the experiment didn't go well. Both Harry and Rose cried and couldn't sleep, it seemed, despite being exhausted. Even after they were brought back together they didn't fall back asleep immediately, but some of their exhaustion seemed to leave and they calmed quickly. As the months passed, the parents of Harry and Rose noticed that the two of them were almost like having twins, but far more involved and more deeply connected. They did everything at the same time. They cried at the same time, ate at the same time, even needed their diapers changed at the same time. When something happened to Rose that made her cry, Harry cried as if he'd felt it. Even their crying sounded the same, and when they were checked by healers to see if they were doing well, their heartbeats and breathing were also the same.

February 2, 1981.

Harry and Rose crawled along the floor side by side as James Potter watched the two of them fondly. He'd worried with the rest of them about how this bond would effect their development, but in some ways, it seemed to be a benefit. They did some things earlier than most children, such as learning to crawl and he idly wondered if they would learn to talk earlier as well.

"No, don't go in there you two." James said, getting up to keep them away from the kitchen.

Neither cried when he picked them both up and put them on the floor, but they were insistent so he sat in the doorway to prevent them from going to the kitchen. Both cried at that and hit him. Their movements weren't the same, but their intention was.

"No hitting." He said firmly.

As he expected, they didn't listen. Picking them up, he placed them both in hi chairs and watched them as they cried, tears rolling down their cheeks.

"You can't hit, okay? That's very bad!" James said to them between their long and loud cries.

Rose and Harry both were struggling to try and escape the hi chairs with different movements, but as he watched, he realized there was a type of coordination with them. One would try something while the other attempted something else. They still cried even as they struggled, but gave up after a moment and simply sat, staring down at the trays.

"No hitting me, okay?" James said gently. "I'm going to let you out now, but don't do that again." He was firm also as he spoke and both children looked at him. He thought they understood.

April 19, 1981.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lilly asked Sarah, coming to sit next to her, watching several blocks spinning and levitating as the two children stared at them, fascinated.

"Oh, I'm okay." Sarah responded in a tired voice, also looking at the blocks.

"Maybe you shouldn't be doing that." Lilly said. "You know how tired you get before and after the full moon."

"Oh, yes, but it's not me." Sarah said, sounding amused. "It's Harry and Rose."

Some of the blocks brushed their cheeks and hair gently and the two children giggled as Lilly watched in awe. She'd never seen such accidental magic from children before. It was incredible. The blocks continued their movements for a little longer, then settled to the ground.

"What are you up to now?" Lilly asked with a smile as Rose and Harry both struggled to stand. Rose managed to stand, but tottered and fell to the floor, which didn't seem to upset them or throw off Harry's balance as such things had before. Harry didn't quite manage it and slid to the floor slowly, his clothed back against the couch. Rose moved to him and patted his cheeks and the two women's eyes grew misty.

"That's so cute." Sarah said with a slight hitch to her voice.

As Sarah's face crumpled in sadness and she started to sob, Lilly put her arms around her and patted her back comfortingly.

"I know how you hate to leave." Lilly said.

"Yes, but we know it's for the best, right?" Sarah asked, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself as well.

"The werewolf won't care who it attacks." Lilly said. "We both know that."

Rose and Harry were suddenly there and Rose grabbed Sarah's shoulder, pulling herself toward her.

"What are you doing, hmm?" Sarah asked, trying to give her a smile, but failing.

Rose put her arms around her neck and patted at her face, then kissed her cheek. Sarah pulled her into her arms and said, "You're such a good girl, you know that?"

"Mama." She said in a content sigh, but her voice seemed to have an echo.

"Oh, my!" Lilly said as she picked up Harry. "You spoke with her!"

"Say it again, Rose!" Sarah said in an excited voice, having forgotten about her sadness.

"Namana." Both Rose and Harry said at the same time. The two women laughed.

"Well, I must be off." Sarah said. "Kiss mama bye bye."

Rose did so and Harry squirmed in Lilly's arms until she put him down. He then crawled to Rose, who let go of Sarah and moved to Lilly, grabbing at her hair and staring at her as Harry pulled himself into Sarah's arms, giving her a sloppy kiss and letting himself fall to the floor, giggling at the movement.

"We'll see you in a few days." Lilly said.

"Okay." Sarah said as she stood. "Good luck and thanks again."

"No problem." Lilly said, then Sarah left through the fireplace in a flash of green flames.

June 26, 1981.

"What is up with you two this morning?" Remus asked as Harry and Rose giggled, watching him intently. He noticed the straight face of Sirius, who looked utterly serious. "What did you do, Sirius?"

"Oh, nothing, Remus." He said. "But this is a grave and momentous event."

Remus looked around suspiciously and intently examined his chair. He spotted nothing suspicious with it and carefully sat down. As he did so, he heard several clicks and a bucket of extremely cold ice water poured down on him. Harry, Rose and Sirius were laughing quite hard, then Harry and Rose chanted, "Pake! Pake! Pake!"

"So that's what you've been teaching them, is it?" Remus asked, pulling out his wand and drenching Sirius, who spluttered and coughed.

"Okay, that does it." Sirius said as he and Remus jumped to their feet.

Harry and Rose shrieked with laughter as they watched Remus and Sirius pouring different liquids on each other from their wands, tears pouring down their faces. Both of them got into the battle and started changing the color of the liquids they produced, some thick, others thin. Neither of them heard Lilly and James arriving, but they heard her speak.

"What do the two of you think you're doing!" She said firmly.

Harry and Rose stopped laughing and looked at Lilly, then said in perfect synchronicity, "Daddy tuble."

"You're both right about that." Lilly said with a smile toward Harry and Rose, who grinned back. "Now, Sirius, Remus, care to explain yourselves?"

Both of them turned toward her, dripping wet with honey, paint, water, and other various liquids of different colors.

"I started it, I thought the children would like it." Sirius said.

"Well, they sure did, old chap." Remus responded, both of them grinning and slapping each other's backs from a job well done.

"Never, never again." Lilly said, swiping her wand over both of them, cleaning them instantly. "I don't want to hear about either of you doing anything like this. Do you realize what a mess the two of you made?"

The two of them looked around at the kitchen and the various things dripping. They gulped and their wands flew out of their hands to land in Lilly's.

"I want this kitchen cleaned the muggle way and spotless, you two." She said sternly.

July 31, 1981.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" Six voices shouted.

Remus, Sarah, Lilly, James, Sirius, and another of their friends, Peter, were all at the house of Lilly and James, currently the most protected out of them. The parents of Harry and Rose had recently learned of a prophecy that involved their children, so had done their best to protect them. That included limiting visitors, unfortunately, or the gathering would have been extended.

Harry and Rose grinned and looked at the candle on the cake in front of them, gazing at it intently.

"And Rose!" Harry said.

"And Rose." Lilly smiled at them. "Now, blow it out!" She demonstrated.

The two took a deep breath and blew, putting out the candle. The adults cheered and Lilly took the candle from it, then Harry and Rose picked up the cake and fed pieces to each other, both acting in perfect coordination and at the same moments as always.

"You're both so cute." Sarah said with a wide smile.

"Picture time!" James said, clicking several photos of both of them eating the cake.

Two days later, the same thing happened for Rose's birthday, and she included Harry just as he'd included her. It was yet another example of their strange bond, but the adults knew they wouldn't have it any other way.

September 23, 1981.

"Hey, you two!" Sarah Black said cheerfully as she entered the living room of her house where Harry and Rose were playing with various toys.

"Mama!" They shouted at the sound of her voice. Both of them ran over to her and hugged her, as they'd missed her being gone for the few weeks she hadn't been with them.

"Hey." She said, picking up both of them in her arms. "Are you both okay?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah." They said at the same moment, then patted her cheeks. "No cry."

"Oh, it's okay." She said. "I'm very happy to see both of you."

"Harry play." Rose said, snuggling into Sarah's arms as Harry squirmed free and dropped to the floor, rolling before he crawled back to the toys, causing both of them to laugh a little. Sarah watched as she held Rose, then quite suddenly, her body went rigid.

"Mama?" Rose asked, watching as her face started to transform along with the rest of her body.

Sarah struggled not to cry out from the extreme pain she was in, and Rose, oblivious to the danger, giggled and rubbed her face against the fur on her Mother's face. She felt her hands as they sharpened into claws and moved as Sarah fell to all fours, returning to tug on her tail that had grown from her. She giggled again and leaned against the werewolf, who remained still for a moment before spinning in a flash of claws and teeth.

Rose screamed along with Harry as the teeth sank into her left arm, both of them shrieking wildly in pain as the wolf bit down harder and growled. Harry tried to move but couldn't, the pain too great and effecting both of them, their bodies flailing as one. Remus and Sirius flew into the room and aimed their wands at Sarah, who turned to face the greater threat. Several red flashes later, Sarah lay on the ground and James entered quickly with Lilly behind him.

"I'll look at her, you check Rose!" James said, waving his wand over Sarah in several patterns as Lilly hurried over to Rose, who was still screaming. Harry had made his way to her by now and grabbed her wounded arm in his hands. Both of them screamed louder at that before a pure golden light washed over Rose's arm from Harry's hands. They stopped screaming and Harry removed his hands from her arm, which had no wound and no scar. Lilly waved her wand over Rose several times, then said, "I think she's okay."

"Oh, good." Sirius said in relief, picking her up and holding her close as she trembled. "You're okay, Rose, I've got you."

Harry jumped at Sirius and struggled to climb up his body. Sirius reached down and lifted him up, Rose grabbing him and pulling him to her. The two clung to each other and softly sobbed, tears of terror rolling down their cheeks. As they did this, Lilly went to Sarah on the floor, looking at the results of James' spells.

"Got it." Lilly said, then waved her wand at Sarah, who's transformation reversed. "Someone forced the transformation on her."

"Voldemort?" Remus asked.

"It's possible." Lilly said. "She was gone quite a while, and she said she'd been captured by Death Eaters."

"Will she be okay?" Sirius asked frantically.

"Yes, she'll be fine. As for Rose... I don't know." Lilly said.

"Let's get her to the hospital." Sirius said with determination.

Thirty minutes later, the healer gazed at them, her expression deeply concerned.

"I'm sorry." She said. "Rose is a werewolf. It's likely her first transformation will kill her."

"Can you do anything?" Sirius asked desperately.

"I'm afraid not." The healer said. "You can give her this on the night of the full moon, it might help with the pain." She handed him a small potion bottle and he took it gently.

"Thanks." Sirius said softly, dreading breaking the news to Sarah.

October 13, 1981.

Rose had been quite tired throughout that day, just as they expected. Though Harry played, he remained next to her and handed her things. He was quite active, though, Rose's tiredness not seeming to effect him much. She smiled in an exhausted way as if she was enjoying herself, though neither James or Sirius were surprised by that. Anything was possible with Harry and Rose.

"Okay, Harry, time to go." Sirius said, picking up Harry as the evening approached.

"Rose!" Harry called as she tried to follow, though was too tired to do anything effectively.

"She'll be okay." James said, taking Harry and leaving the room. "Shh, Harry."

It was unsurprising that despite all of James' attempts to comfort Harry, he still tried to get to Rose and Sirius in the other room. About twenty minutes after they'd left, Harry's back arched and he screamed along with Rose for a moment before relaxing.

"James!" Sirius called in a shocked voice.

James ran into the room, Harry in one arm and his wand in his other hand. Rose was there, but she wasn't a werewolf, though wasn't quite the Rose they knew, either. She was taller and larger than she'd been, and her eyes were a deeper blue than they'd been before. She and Harry looked almost feral and wild, but Rose wasn't attacking. As she stood quickly, Harry pushed hard away from James and was caught by Rose, who sniffed at him as she held him.

"What happened?" James asked in shocked surprise.

"I don't know, but she's not dangerous, she's not like any werewolf I know of." Sirius replied as Rose set Harry down, and clutching his hand, pulled him along with her as they explored the house.

James and Sirius kept an eye on them, though couldn't do much to stop them. When they tried, Rose would turn with a shriek and bared teeth, Harry along side her saying, "Away! Away!" Both still worked together and Rose seemed to simply want to explore with Harry. A few hours passed before she let James and Sirius lead them to their room, curling on the bed with Harry to sleep.

The next few days were also a surprise. Rose wasn't tired as she'd been. In fact, she seemed healthier than before, and also had a much higher temperature than she'd had previously, as if the bond had somehow mutated the werewolf transformation into something else entirely. Though she reverted to her normal size after the full moon, her eyes remained the deeper blue they'd been. She was also stronger than she'd been before, and faster, too. It wasn't until a week after the full moon that she and Harry calmed and were no longer quite so emotional, which had faded as the full moon passed. When Sarah heard about what had happened, she was quite happy that it wasn't anything worse, trying to plan to work around her other transformations as they occurred. Unfortunately, they never got the chance.

October 31, 1981.

Voldemort strode with purpose down the road toward the Potter residence, staring around at the Muggles playing their pathetic Halloween games, dressing up in costumes they believed would be frightening. The ignorance. Now was not the time to rid himself of Muggles. No, that would come later, Voldemort decided. He strode through the shopping square, not feeling anger at how the Muggles lived their lives, but triumph. He had waited, hoped for this moment. Once Harry Potter and the other were dead, he, Voldemort, could rule without opposition, without fear that someone could kill him.

"Nice costume, mister!" A child called.

Voldemort saw the fear in the child's eyes and face as he approached close enough to see the face under the hood of his cloak, then after a moment, the child ran from him. Beneath his robe, Voldemort fingered his wand. It would only take a simple spell, one movement to prevent the child from reaching his mother, but no. That was unnecessary. Later, perhaps, but not now.

As Voldemort strode along another darker street, he spotted his destination at last. The Potters didn't know that the Fidelius charm had been broken yet, but they would quite soon. Voldemort made less sound than the dead leaves being blown across the pavement as he moved. He drew level with a dark hedge and peered over it, spotting the Potters through their window.

The curtains were not drawn and Voldemort saw two of the Potters quite clearly. One, a tall man with messy black hair was emitting colored smoke from his wand. The child whom he had come to kill was in blue pajamas, laughing and trying to catch the smoke in his small, chubby hands without success. Such simple things could entertain so feeble minded children, Voldemort thought to himself. And there was the other, he thought with a derisive pleasure, watching a black haired girl also trying to catch the smoke in her hands. As he watched intently, he noticed the two of them seemed to work together, almost as one being rather than two. So they were bonded, Voldemort thought. This would be simple.

A door opened and the mother of Harry Potter entered. She spoke, though Voldemort couldn't hear the words she said. He watched her long red hair fall over her face as the tall man picked up his child, his son, handing him to the mother. The father then threw his wand down on the couch and stretched, yawning. He then picked up the small girl, who grasped at his hair, and from what Voldemort could tell, kept her gaze on Harry. He watched as the girl was gently placed in the mother's arms along side Harry, the two children curling around each other in a blissful contentment.

The gate creaked as Voldemort pushed it open, though James Potter didn't hear the sound, likely not expecting him to arrive. The fools had trusted Peter Pettigrew. Now, they would pay the price.

Voldemort pointed the wand at the door and it burst open. He was already over the threshold as James sprinted into the hall. It was too easy. James hadn't even picked up his wand...

"Lily, take them and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" James shouted.

Hold him off, without a wand in his hand! Voldemort laughed before casting the curse...

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green light filled the cramped hallway, it lit the pram pushed against the wall, it made the banisters glare like lightning rods, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut.

Voldemort heard Lilly screaming from the upper landing. She, at least, had nothing to fear as long as she remained sensible. Though she was trapped, Voldemort had only come to kill the boy and his bonded, the girl. He climbed the steps, listening with faint amusement at her attempts to barricade herself in. She had no wand on her either. How trusting these Potters had been, trusting in their friends to keep them safe, that weapons could be discarded even for a moment.

He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes that had been hastily erected with a wave of his wand, then came face-to-face with the mother and the children. When she caught sight of him, she dropped the children in the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if shielding them from site would stop Voldemort from killing him, would choose her instead.

"Not the children, not the children, please not Harry or Rose!" Lilly said with desperation in her voice.

Ah, so Rose was her name. Rose Black, perhaps, Voldemort thought to himself, remembering having met the woman who was the potential mother of her, Sarah Black. He had allowed the woman to escape after placing a forced transformation spell on the werewolf, delayed for a time, but now was not the time to think of such things. Now, he needed to get the woman and these children out of his way so he, Lord Voldemort, could once and for all rule the world.

"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now." Voldemort said with a cold calm.

"Not the children, please no, take me, kill me instead..." Lilly said, though Voldemort cut her off.

"This is my last warning." He said.

"Not the children! Please... have mercy... have mercy... Not the children! Not the children! Please - I'll do anything..."

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!" Voldemort called.

Lilly gave one last plea for mercy and Voldemort killed her like he had her husband, the green light flashing around the room as she fell. How pathetic.

The children had not cried throughout the encounter. They could stand, their hands gripping the bars of the crib as they looked up at the intruder with interest, standing side by side and, perhaps, thinking it was Harry's father who hid under the cloak making more pretty lights, that Harry's mother would pop up at any moment, laughing. Lilly had laughed her last laugh, though, and Voldemort would make sure he was the last sight the children would ever see.

Voldemort pointed the wand carefully into Harry's face. He wanted to see the death of half of the one, inexplicable danger that stood in his way. Harry began to cry. It seemed he now knew this was not James.

Voldemort didn't like the boy crying, he had never been able to stomach the small ones crying at the orphanage in which he lived as a child. He would end it quickly, mercifully. As he rose his wand, he noticed the girl, Rose, her eyes wide with fear and anger, her hands clutching the crib and Harry's arm tightly. She did not cry, but Voldemort cared not.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green light hit Harry in the forehead and rebounded. Voldemort felt the pain as the light hit him, ripped him from his body, broke him and filled him with pain and terror, and he needed to hide, but not here, somewhere far, far away... Away from the children... Away from his loss... And as Voldemort fled, both children cried, clinging to one another as the magical backlash caused damage to the house.

November 1, 1981.

Albus Dumbledore appeared on a corner of Privet Drive with a pop of apparition. He was tall and thin, with long hair and beard, both of which were silver and tucked into his belt. The robes he wore were dark so as to blend into the shadows more easily and his blue eyes twinkled behind half-moon spectacles. He took something from a pocket in his robes that looked like a lighter. He flicked it several times, balls of light seeming to move from the street lamps into the device. Only then did he set off toward Number Four, intently looking for any spies, anyone to stop him from his goal. He knew two things, that both the children must be protected at all costs, and that here would be stronger protections than anyone could place. He'd listened to the concerns of Professor McGonagall, who had reported to him of the Muggle's treatment of their son and how spoiled he was. He had high hopes that the children would be included in the Dursley family, though above all, he knew they must be protected.

"Ah, good, good." Dumbledore said to himself. No one was there, invisible or otherwise. "Nesa." Dumbledore said the last word firmly and as a command.

With a pop, a short creature with large, pointed ears and long, slender fingers appeared in front of Dumbledore, holding a bundle in her arms. Dumbledore took the bundle from her, then said, "Very good, Nesa. You are return to Hogwarts and never repeat a word of this to anyone. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dumbledore sir." The small creature said in her high voice, though spoke quietly as Dumbledore had done. She then vanished with another pop and Dumbledore lay the bundle on the porch.

"And now, I take my leave of you, Harry Potter and Rose Black, or should I say, Rose Potter." Dumbledore said after tucking a letter between the two sleeping children, both of who were curled around each other and hugging, looking blissfully content. With a sad smile and dull eyes, Dumbledore walked back to the corner and flicked the device he'd used to put out the lights before. All the balls of light returned to their lamps and he turned on the spot, vanishing as quietly as he'd appeared.

Dumbledore reappeared on what looked to be a well traveled path and spotted Remus Lupin on the porch. He immediately leapt up as Dumbledore started walking toward him, looking quite grave.

"Dumbledore!" Lupin shouted. "Dumbledore, where are they? Where are the children?"

"It was necessary for me to leave them with the Dursley's." He responded, then let out a sad sigh. "I would have preferred another, but you, and Sarah especially, are quite aware of Voldemort's followers, who will wish to come after them and kill them."

Sarah stepped from behind Remus, a cold anger on her face and tears in her eyes.

"I want to see my daughter." She said fiercely.

"I will make arrangements for you to do so." Dumbledore responded. "I will give you the address if, and only if you promise me you will not attempt to see them yourself."

"Promise not to see them?" Sarah asked coolly. "Who do you think I am, Albus, a fool who's just going to quietly go along with your plans? How dare you! Harry is as much mine as Rose is!"

"I am positive that the protection of them at the Dursley's is absolute, both because of Lilly Potter's sacrifice, and being with a blood relative of the Potter's. As you know, Petunia Dursley is Lilly Potter's sister." Dumbledore stated.

"Albus, I don't care about this nonsense, I want to see them, now!" Sarah shouted frantically.

"Them being at the Dursley's is as much for your protection as it is there's." Dumbledore said firmly.

"But..." Sarah began.

"How long do you believe you will survive, Sarah, Remus, should Death Eaters come after you both?" Dumbledore asked.

"You know Rose is almost a werewolf, don't you?" Sarah asked furiously. "You can't leave her with those Muggles! They hate magic, too, it's the worst place they could be!"

Dumbledore's eyes widened.

"At least she won't kill them when she transforms." Sarah stated.

"I need to know everything you know about their condition." Dumbledore said with urgency. "If they place the Dursley's in danger..."

"No, Dumbledore, you know nothing until I get to see them!" Sarah shouted. "Now tell me where they are!"

"That, I will not do." Dumbledore responded firmly. "There has been talk of making attempts on their lives already. I cannot put them in further danger by placing them in a place that could possibly have practically no protection."

"Then you put up some wards, do something!" Sarah shouted. "You're handing them off to Muggles so you don't have to do all the work yourself!"

"That is the furthest thing from my mind." Dumbledore's eyes were cold and his voice sharp. "Such accusations will not help you to see Harry or Rose. If I place wards to protect you, they will be broken. Harry Potter survived Voldemort's killing curse, and you know they do not enjoy separation. I would not dream of subjecting them to that type of pain."

Sarah looked lost and deeply confused, uncertain how to proceed.

"I shall return at a later date to tell you, and show you where they are so you may visit them." Dumbledore said. "Remember, protection against the killing curse isn't known. Given that, it's highly unlikely any Death Eater's will have the opportunity, ability, or knowledge on how to kill them there in the first place. It's stronger protection than I could place by far, even more secure than such a place as Hogwarts. I promise you, I shall tell you where they are when I have time."

"When you have time? When you have time!" Sarah shrieked.

"Yes, when I have time." Dumbledore responded firmly and sharply. "They are protected, they are safe. Now, I must work on getting Sirius Black from prison and trying, in vane I fear, to get the minister to see sense in regards to his situation. I shall return soon, Sarah."

"And what if they kill the Dursley's, hmm?" Sarah asked coldly. "Then that'll Bollix up you're entire plan!"

"Given the lack of urgency when you spoke to me of Rose's condition, I believe they are in no danger." Dumbledore stated. "In fact, I believe you attempted to use Rose's condition to sway me to your argument."

"You can't just leave them there!" Sarah shouted with wild desperation.

"When I am certain you can protect them as well as the protection offered by their living with the Dursley's, you have my word that I will not delay in returning them to you." Dumbledore stated. "For now, I have other matters to see to, and while I would like nothing more to devote my full attention to this matter, life does go on. I will return soon."

Before Sarah or Remus could say anything more, Dumbledore turned on the spot and vanished.

November 12, 1981.

"What's this about?" Sarah asked desperately. "Can we see them, where are they? Are you going to let me keep them now? Tell me!"

Albus Dumbledore gazed at them with a terrible sadness and Sarah staggered.

"No..." She said weakly.

Dumbledore stepped aside. In front of her was a partly familiar body. It was Rose, horribly twisted and mangled in what looked to be a gruesome partial transformation into a werewolf. Sarah then cried out in a terrible grief, shouting, "No!"

She fell to her knees, Remus doing the same next to her, both of them weeping over the body.

"I am terribly sorry." Dumbledore said, his voice also reflecting a terrible grief, tears rolling down his cheeks as he shook with silent sobs.

"How did this happen?" Remus asked after a long few moments of silence. "She didn't transform like this before!"

"I don't know, Remus." Dumbledore said weakly. "I just don't know."

"I have to check, have to know." Sarah said frantically, a knife appearing with a wave of her wand. She moved to the body as Remus and Dumbledore watched sadly, cutting the body and letting a small amount of blood leak into the snow as she pulled it from her with her wand, then cut herself and let her blood mingle with her daughters. Trembling, she waved her wand in a circle and said, "Familial." They watched in anticipation as the blood gathered in a sphere, then vanished. A deep red light traveled out from it and Sarah fell to the ground, screaming in terrible grief. Rose Black was dead. Moments later, Sarah leapt up and shouted, "You told me they would be safe, Dumbledore, you told me! Now his followers got to Rose because of your arrogance! I'll kill them first and you're next!" She then turned on the spot and vanished.

"Oh, dear." Dumbledore said with a sigh, looking down in a grief Remus had never before seen from the man.

"What do we do?" Remus asked, blinking the tears from his eyes.

"Should we attempt anything, I am certain Sarah Black will have many harsh words and harsher magic to go with them." Dumbledore responded slowly as he looked up. "However, we should proceed to find her. Harry Potter deserves his godmother. Rose Potter..." He swallowed heavily and Remus blinked tears from his eyes.

"Rose Potter?" Remus questioned with a tremor in his voice, staring back at the body.

"Indeed." Dumbledore responded. "Before I brought them to the Dursley's, I checked the magical records. It would seem that Harry and Rose Potter are... Were... Considered married by all magical rights."

Dumbledore's voice cracked with grief and he took a deep breath, trying to collect himself. He then waved his wand over the snow and muttered a few words, looking suddenly triumphant.

"I have her destination." He said.

"Let's go." Remus responded, determined. He gripped Dumbledore's arm, and together, they disapparated.

Two hours later, Albus Dumbledore apparated directly into his office. That was one of the benefits of being the headmaster of Hogwarts, something he wouldn't give up for anything. His face sagged with grief and he sank down in his chair, his head in his hands.

"Oh, Sarah, why." He whispered to himself. Fawkes, his phoenix, flew over to him, singing some notes that rose his spirits, even if a little. With a trembling hand, he reached out and lightly stroked Fawkes.

"I am so sorry, Harry." He said quietly, though he was many miles away. "Your mother, your bonded, Rose, are dead. I have made the gravest of miscalculations." He swallowed and a few tears rolled down his cheeks. After a long moment, he let out another sigh and rose his head. He had work to do. Though the circumstances were terrible, life continued. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The Dursley Life and the Spenson's

It had been almost ten years since the Dursley's found Harry and Rose on the porch of their house, and due to Dumbledore's letter, felt that they were forced to take them in. It was the letter that encouraged them to treat the children more harshly than Dudley had ever been.

Though there were two other children in the Dursley household, the pictures in the house didn't show any sign of that being the case. Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's cousin, was displayed along with his parents. There was no sign at all that Harry and Rose existed in the house at all. In fact, if an observer were to casually look around the house, they wouldn't find Harry or Rose anywhere. Though there were four bedrooms on the upper level of the house, none belonged to either child. Both were kept in a place that kept them out of the way of the Dursley's in case they were needed, or for the rare, but predictable circumstance of the full moon.

Both Harry and Rose slept curled up against one another, both cramped in the cupboard under the stares. It was a dark place, dusty and with spider webs. Both of them received the same second hand clothes of Dudley's. Oddly, the clothes fit Rose much better than Harry in some ways, as she was taller than he. Aunt Petunia's slight modification to the clothes ensured Rose wouldn't arouse suspicion in Dudley's clothes. After all, the Dursley's didn't want to spend any money on either of them if they didn't have to.

Though both were sleeping, neither were in positions that looked entirely comfortable. Both barely fit inside the cupboard as it was, and both looked quite cramped.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows of the Dursley household and Aunt Petunia's shrill voice was the first sound the pair heard that day, along with her wrapping on the door.

"Up! Get up, now!" She said after wrapping on the door.

Both woke at the same moment from the sound. Neither had ever thought of themselves as individuals, though they put on that appearance for the Dursley's sake, as well as others. They felt, and thought of themselves as one person, but with two bodies. The Harry Potter half of them sat up and the Rose Potter half did the same. Both gazed at each other and saw themselves through their own eyes as well as the others. Both experienced each other's senses, feelings and thoughts at the same moment. For many, that would be rather overwhelming, but both of them had grown up with it and had adapted as a result. Their level of experiencing the other went beyond anything that could entirely be put into words, but even so, they knew which was the Harry Potter half of them and which was the Rose Potter half.

Both coordinated their movements and dressed in silence, remembering the strange dream they'd had. They'd heard a high, cold voice shout something, seen a flash of green light, then had experienced images of different people, the feeling of being passed back and forth. It was an odd dream, but they'd had it for as long as they could remember. After they dressed, they looked at one another again.

Harry Potter was small for his age, though he was fast, too. His black hair was always messy and his green eyes shined with life and emotions that were precisely mirrored in Rose Potter's eyes. A lightning bolt scar was on Harry's forehead, the only thing the Harry half of them liked about their appearance. They didn't care for the glasses he wore or the way his face looked.

Rose Potter was tall and athletic for her age, despite being underfed like the Harry Potter half of them was. Her hair was also black, but was straight and much neater than the Harry Potter half of them. Her blue eyes were pretty and deeper than the ocean, and her face was more elegant in appearance. Her forehead was unmarked and she didn't need glasses, her vision far better than the Harry half.

Both heard the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove and the Rose half opened the cupboard door. She exited first, feeling Harry waiting for her on the cupboard floor, the rough texture of the wood under her hands, seeing the Rose half of them stand in front of the Harry half of them through his eyes, hearing the sounds from the view of the Harry half in the cupboard along with the Rose half, who was standing outside. The Harry half exited next as Aunt Petunia returned and looked at them critically.

"You'll watch the breakfast and make sure nothing burns." She stated in clipped tones. "I want everything to be perfect on Dudley's birthday."

Their emotions and thoughts were more prone to anger and aggression during this time of the month. It was June 23, four days before the day of a full moon. Neither half said anything and they both mentally groaned. They'd forgotten about Dudley's birthday. Well, that was certainly a reminder if any, they mused.

They entered the kitchen and the Rose half moved to the stove as the Harry half looked at the table, both aware of each other's vision. The Harry half saw the presents piled on the kitchen table. It seemed Dudley had gotten the new computer he'd wanted, along with a racing bike. Why was beyond them. Even as the Harry half of them saw Dudley's presents, he also saw what the Rose half saw as she stepped up to the stove and flipped the bacon and eggs, watching them expressionlessly and with a fierce mental frown. It seemed Dudley had received the bike he'd wanted, which seemed odd to them. It was surprising. The only form of exercise Dudley liked was punching someone, preferably the Harry and Rose being. Though he didn't look it, the Harry half was fast, something that helped him escape from his cousin. The Rose half was also fast, far faster than the Harry half was. She was stronger, too, often carrying the Harry half as they escaped Dudley and his group of bullies.

"Comb your hair, boy!" Vernon barked as a greeting as the Harry half of them moved to the Rose half, placing the bacon in a serving dish as the Rose half looked at the eggs. They were nearly done.

Uncle Vernon always seemed to think the Harry half needed a hair cut, perhaps due to his messy hair. He'd likely had more than any boy in his class, though nothing helped. His hair simply grew as it wanted to, wild and in some ways reminding them of the Rose half on the full moon.

As Dudley entered the kitchen with his mother, the Harry and Rose being put the serving dishes on the table, wanting to get the day over with quickly preferably without anything going wrong. The Harry and Rose being was short tempered and volatile at the moment, but had experience controlling their emotions over the years.

Dudley was a rather fat boy. They'd often called him a pig in a wig, but Aunt Petunia called him her baby angel. That was laughable in itself. As the Harry and Rose being served themselves precisely the same amount of food, they noticed Dudley counting his presents. Both ate taking turns, not wishing to taste combinations of different items of food. It was a compromise for the Dursley's, if such a thing was even possible for them to have in the first place. They were already abnormal as it was. Eating in synchronicity wouldn't help them get treated well.

"Thirty-six!" He shouted at his parents in a whiny voice. "That's two less than last year!"

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see? It's right under this one from Mummy and Daddy." Aunt Petunia said in a placating tone of voice.

Here we go, the Harry and Rose being thought. Yet another Dudley fit coming on. They both began eating quickly, doing so in the same movements and eating the same items. If the table was turned over, they wanted to get their meal, pitiful as it was, eaten.

"All right, thirty-seven then!" Dudley said, going red in the face. Yep, they'd been right. They were quickly finished with their small meal, though, and stood to wash up.

"We'll buy you another two while we're out, how's that sound, popkin?" Aunt Petunia said in a voice that sounded as if she was intimidated by Dudley. No wonder he turned out how he did, they thought. Ridiculous.

"That'll be thirty... Thirty..." Dudley said. Counting looked like hard work for him, the Harry and Rose being thought.

"Thirty-nine." Aunt Petunia said.

"Oh, okay, then." Dudley looked much happier now.

The Harry and Rose being returned and sat as Dudley also took a seat, pulling the nearest present toward him. Uncle Vernon chuckled.

"Little tike wants his money's worth just like his father. That'a boy, Dudley." Uncle Vernon said, ruffling Dudley's hair.

The phone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it. As she did so, Uncle Vernon and the Harry and Rose being watched Dudley unwrap several of his gifts. They had never received anything for Christmas for birthdays that was anything like Dudley. Their presents were limited to something as insignificant as a tissue, old bent coat hanger, or some item that looked as if it had seen much, much better days. They lamented over one such time when the Rose half had asked, "Why don't I get one too!"

"You think of yourself like a single person, so you can share everything else, too! And don't ask questions!" Uncle Vernon had bellowed before slamming the cupboard door.

That was the first rule of living a quiet life with the Dursley's. Don't ask questions. Of course, neither of them cared, so asked them anyway. Aunt Petunia's voice interrupted their reverie.

"Bad news. Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take them." Aunt Petunia looked rather angry and concerned at this.

They were sorry that Mrs. Figg's leg had been broken, but also glad they wouldn't have to spend time at her house. She wasn't as bad as the Dursley's, but she tended to ramble on about her cats and give them old pieces of food to eat. They tasted old, at any rate, and they suspected she wasn't quite there in the head. Perhaps this time they could go out with Dudley on his birthday, they thought. Every year, Dudley had gone out with friends and they had been left in the care of Mrs. Figg.

"So!" Uncle Vernon bellowed and Dudley grinned. Another of his favorite activities was occurring, something he even liked more than television, watching the Harry and Rose being get yelled at by Uncle Vernon.

"Thought you'd plan something to come with us, did you?" Uncle Vernon asked furiously.

It wasn't like he was the most intelligent person, they knew. The Harry and Rose being wanted to lash out in anger but knew that wouldn't do anything but get them into trouble.

"No, Uncle Vernon." The Harry half said. "We didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything, did you?" Uncle Vernon yelled, his face starting to change color.

"She tripped over a cat, Vernon." Aunt Petunia stated. "But I agree, they still should be punished."

"Don't you worry, Dudley." Uncle Vernon said. "We won't let them ruin your special day."

"What do we do with them, then?" Aunt Petunia said. "I won't leave them here, there's no telling what condition the house would be in when we got back."

"Yeah, I just might make it magically explode." The Rose half said.

Aunt petunia flinched violently, Dudley grinned, and Uncle Vernon leapt to his feet in a towering rage.

"What have we said about using the M word under our roof!" Uncle Vernon roared, flex of spit flying from his mouth on to their faces. It was quite disgusting, they thought as they stood, the Harry and Rose being gripping hands. The Harry half felt the grip of the Rose half's hand, larger than his own with a firm strength and quite a hot grasp. He also felt his own hand through the Rose half, she feeling the same sensations. The Harry and Rose being found the action comforting.

"Not to say it, Uncle Vernon." The Harry half said dutifully.

"And don't you forget it!" Uncle Vernon shouted before retaking his seat heavily. "So, what do we do with them, then?"

"They won't fit in the car so we can't take them with us, not that I'd even consider that." Aunt Petunia said with disdain.

"What about the new neighbors, Pet?" Uncle Vernon asked.

"I'll call them right now." Aunt Petunia said and their hearts leapt.

Before they'd been caught looking out the kitchen window, the Harry and Rose being had spotted two people moving in. One had been a good looking man with what had looked to be a customized suit of some kind. Another had been a woman, who was tall and quite good looking, wearing a very beautiful dress. Uncle Vernon had grabbed them by their shirts and pulled them away from the window, then had shouted at them to get in their cupboard and not to look at such high class people. They had, though hadn't figured out who they'd been. That had been only a few weeks ago. It seemed they were about to find out who the neighbors were, though from what they'd remembered hearing, they were polite people. They would find out if they'd take them in, that is.

The door bell rang at that moment and Aunt Petunia went to answer, dropping the phone that she'd picked up. Dudley's best friend Piers Polkiss walked in with his mother and gave the Rose half a lecherous grin. The Harry and Rose being felt an indignant fury, not wanting to be looked at by him, but knew if the Rose half glared or made any sign she didn't like it other than neutrality, they would get into even more trouble. It had happened before and would likely happen again. Uncle Vernon stood.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon spoke with Piers's mother for a few minutes before she left him in their care, then Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia went to another room briefly, likely to talk about what they were going to do with the Harry and Rose being. Finally, Uncle Vernon returned to find Dudley and Piers chasing the Harry and Rose being around the house, grabbing them both.

"Potters!" He said menacingly. "Just what were you doing, huh?" Uncle Vernon shook them.

"Nothing, Uncle Vernon." The Harry half responded demurely.

"Get in here." Uncle Vernon pulled them into the kitchen and closed the door behind them. "Now, this is how it's going to work, and you won't make a seen about it, either. You, boy, will be coming with us. I don't want to put both of you ungrateful people in their care. You, girl, will be staying with the new neighbors, we've just called them up and they're willing to let you stay a while, you hear?"

"Yes, uncle Vernon." The Rose half responded.

The Harry and Rose being had been separated before, so were used to it by now and could act separately to avoid suspicion. Both were still more joyful than they'd been on this day, though, since the Harry half was going to the zoo, the Rose half able to experience it through him. Moments later, Uncle Vernon grabbed the Harry half by the shirt and leaned close.

"I'm warning you, boy, any funny business and you'll be in that cupboard with Rose from now until Christmas." Uncle Vernon said fiercely.

"I'm not going to do anything." The Harry half responded.

"We'll just see about that, boy." Uncle Vernon responded, giving the Harry half a good shake before releasing him. "And that goes for you too, girl."

Strange things inevitably happened around the Harry and Rose being, or either half when separated. When the Harry half had come back from the barber one day, Aunt Petunia, tired of seeing him return as if he'd never had a hair cut, did a job on his hair herself, making him look even worse than he already did. The Harry and Rose being had spent the night in the cupboard thinking how horribly the Harry half would be teased, but the next morning, it was as if it had never been. Then, of course, there were the full moons, where the Rose half would transform in a way and become emotional before and after, though that strange event was predictable and would be coming in four days.

Almost a half hour later, the Rose half stood in front of number two and rang the door bell, gazing at the door and herself from the Harry Half in the car, who was poked by Dudley and given a nasty grin.

"Don't you spoil my special day, Potter." He said, then gave him a punch in the arm hard enough to hurt as the door in front of the Rose half opened, revealing the beautiful woman they'd seen before.

"Good morning." She said politely. "You must be Rose."

"Yes." The Rose half said as she felt the vehicle driving off and looked around from the Harry Half, watching the scenery pass.

"Come in." The woman said and the Rose half stepped over the threshold, the woman closing the door behind her. "My name is Silvia Spenson. My husband is Justin, but he's asleep at the moment. Would you like something to eat?"

"Yes, please." The Rose half replied politely as the Harry half drove to the zoo, the Rose and Harry being feeling a great joy. The Harry half was going to the zoo and the Rose half was getting more to eat, she always the hungrier of them.

"Follow me." Silvia said.

The Rose half sat down in a familiar kitchen. The layout of this house was identical to the Dursley's and they idly wondered if they were going to be punished here, too. As the Rose half watched Silvia moving about the kitchen, she said in as polite a voice as she could, "Can I help you, Silvia? I know how to cook."

"Well, I see you're ahead of me." Silvia said with a smile. "Your Uncle Vernon said that you needed some good, hard work. If you know how to cook, go on and make your own breakfast, then. I'll make sure you don't get hurt."

The Rose half did as she was told in efficient movements, wasting nothing and making the breakfast like an expert, which the Harry and Rose being practically were with the number of times they'd cooked for the Dursley's. Doing such a thing every day since they were five would teach anyone a skill quite well.

"Your Aunt Petunia must be an excellent teacher." Silvia said approvingly as the Rose half placed the dishes of food on the counter, having made enough for not only herself, but the kind neighbors too.

The Rose half nodded and waited demurely next to the counter.

"You can serve yourself something to eat, dear. We're not much for formalities. We may be high class, but we don't conform to all that social nonsense unless we have to." Silvia said with an encouraging smile.

The Rose half grinned and carefully served herself a third of what she'd cooked. Silvia smiled at her and dished the other thirds onto two plates, bringing them to the table as the Rose half sat politely.

"Thank you." She said politely to Silvia, who looked at her somewhat puzzled.

"For what?" She asked. "You made this, so thank you."

The Rose half looked down shyly and blinked several times, the Harry and Rose being raining in their emotions. Dudley pinching the Harry half roughly helped in that regard and the Rose half began eating more than she could ever remember having in one sitting. As she ate, she soon heard someone entering the kitchen. It was the man, who yawned and said, "Who's this we have here?"

"Justin, this is Rose. The Dursley's asked us to watch her and told us hard work would do her good. I must say, she's a great cook, though shy about it." Silvia smiled and ruffled the Rose half's hair, and within their mind, they hungered for the affectionate touches.

"Oh, my." Justin said as he began eating. "This is great, Rose. Thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome." The Rose half muttered, blushing a little before calming so the Dursley's wouldn't notice anything suspicious.

"We've got quite a bit for you to do." Silvia said. "And if you need something to eat, just ask us."

"May I ask what I'll be doing?" The Rose half asked carefully.

"We've got gardening for you to work on according to Silvia's list here." Justin said. The Rose half spotted a list of items for her to do and some beautiful trees as the Harry half passed them in the car. She read the list and saw through the Harry half's eyes as always, remembering the list and the beautiful scenery, though they were approaching the zoo.

"Okay." The Rose half said politely. "I can do these things."

"Good." Silvia said with a smile.

The Rose half got to work after eating, channeling their anger into the physical activities of cutting the grass. There wasn't much, though, and the only anger came from their unique condition, which wasn't directed at the moment and simply a result of it. On the hole, they were joyful, as the Harry half had never been able to go to the zoo or do anything like it before.

The Rose half finished with the yard work quickly, then moved on to the other items on the list. She was efficient but did the jobs well, her face calm as she worked. Unfortunately, as she was painting the fence they had around their back yard, the Harry and Rose being had reason to be angry now, as Dudley shoved the Harry half out of the way of a snake he was having a conversation with. A strange thing to be sure, but nothing out of the ordinary for them. The Harry and Rose being watched the glass keeping the snake in its cage vanish and knew they were going to be punished once again for something they didn't do.

Uncle Vernon didn't look happy at all as he pulled up in his driveway. Aunt Petunia was the one to go to number two where the Rose half was washing the Spenson's car. As she came over, Silvia smiled at her and said, "You both have taught Rose very well, I wouldn't mind to have her over more often. She's quite a polite child."

Aunt Petunia stared as if she didn't quite believe that, then stated, "Well, we have to be going. Come, Rose."

"Yes, Aunt Petunia." The Rose half stated as Silvia came over to her.

"I appreciate all your work." She said, hugging her. The Rose half simply stood, startled by the gesture and moving back uncomfortably when she was released. She said nothing, only hurried after Aunt Petunia and returned to the Dursley's.

"In." Aunt Petunia stated after they were inside the house, pointing at the cupboard.

The Rose half crawled inside without protesting, she and the Harry half hugging each other close. Between them, a hug wasn't awkward, but with others, it wasn't expected since the Dursley's never actually gave them such affection. There was no need for words between them in the silence. Since both thought with a single mind, they both knew what had happened. After all, they were one being, not two. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The Full Moon Effect

June 27, 1991.

The Harry and Rose being quietly crept through the house, heart pounding and emotions on edge due to the closeness of the full moon. They could hear the Dursley's sleeping as they quietly snuck a great deal of food from the fridge back to the cupboard. They didn't care if they were caught at this point. The Rose half was starving quite a bit more than the Harry half, but they would make sure they ate until they were full. They had been sneaking food from the fridge throughout the night. This would be the last trip of the day, since it was nearing morning. With the door closed, both ate what they'd procured, frowning but relaxing a little. Through the Rose half, they could hear the Dursley's starting to wake above them, though had to pay attention to do so at this point. They finished eating before the Dursley's went to the kitchen. The Rose half quietly took their garbage to the waist basket and returned quickly. Both listened as the Dursley's went down the stares and waited.

"Potter!" Uncle Vernon bellowed, steps shaking the house as he stormed toward the cupboard and wrenched it open, grabbing the Harry and Rose being by the hair and pulling them from the cupboard. Both of them snarled angrily.

"Let go!" The Harry and Rose being shouted.

"Behaving like common thieves now, are you? Not grateful enough for what we give you, so you steal from us, is that it?" Uncle Vernon shouted in fury, shaking them.

The Harry and Rose being grabbed his hands and wrenched them free, then shoved him back quite hard.

"Don't touch me!" The Harry and Rose being shouted, again speaking at the same moment.

"Then stay in your cupboard and be happy with what we give you!" Uncle Vernon said, staring at them in fury as his face turned purple.

"I can't very well be happy when you starve me, can I?" The Harry and Rose being stated coldly. "You just keep me alive but you do nothing else! You are a pathetic excuse for a person!"

"You are individuals, Potter's!" Uncle Vernon roared, shaking them violently before the Rose half punched him.

"I said don't touch me!" The Harry and Rose being roared back, fury tearing through them along with a satisfaction as they saw Uncle Vernon sprawled out on the floor.

As he rose to his feet, his hands curled into tight fists, they realized how unwise it had been to do such a thing, but despite realizing that, they didn't care at the moment.

"How would you like it if someone hit you, girl!" Uncle Vernon shouted in rage.

He made to punch her and the Rose half grabbed his wrist, then the Harry and Rose being stated in a low voice of icy rage, "Do that again and I'll snap this like a twig. It would serve you right."

"Serve me right, would it?" Uncle Vernon shouted as he yanked his wrist back. "Into your cupboard! Now! And don't you backtalk anymore!"

"No!" The Harry and Rose being shouted back.

"That does it!" Uncle Vernon shouted, grabbing the Harry half by the shirt and shoving him back.

"Stop it!" The Harry and Rose being shouted, the Rose half leaping on Uncle Vernon and yanking his wrists away from the Harry half, grabbing Uncle Vernon and pushing him as hard as she could away from them, which was quite hard. He flew across the room and hit one of the walls, though immediately leapt to his feet, looking quite enraged. The Rose half curled her hands into vicious claws and the Harry and Rose being glared at him, feeling more and more enraged. Quite suddenly, Uncle Vernon flew into the air and into the kitchen, sliding along the table and crashing through several of the dishes there. They didn't care about the crashing, smashing sounds as they put on their shoes, only wanted out. They stormed from the house, slamming the door behind them and holding hands tightly as they walked.

"Good morning!" Silvia Spenson said cheerfully, smiling at the two of them as she came out of her house. "Trouble, I see?"

"He won't let me eat!" The Harry and Rose being shouted. "And when I do he yells at me and I hate my cupboard, it's so small and cramped and I don't want to be there anymore!"

"Okay, okay." Silvia said as she hurried over to them. "Calm down, okay?" As she reached toward them and gently put her hands on their shoulders, they blinked tears from their eyes. "Do they really put the two of you in a cupboard?"

"It's where I sleep." The Harry and Rose being said, trying to keep their voices down. "It's my room."

"You two shouldn't be wandering out here alone. Come with me, okay?" She said gently.

They followed her, but before they got far, the door burst open behind them to reveal an enraged Uncle Vernon. They moved behind Silvia, who turned to face him.

"I wonder just what that cupboard you keep them in looks like, Vernon Dursley." She stated coldly. "And together, no less, hmm?"

"They want to stay there." Uncle Vernon said furiously. "It's not my fault they like it there!"

"No I don't!" The Harry and Rose being shouted. "I hate it!"

"Let's take a look, shall we?" Silvia said coolly, walking up to him with no fear, only an icy sort of purpose.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Uncle Vernon shouted.

"When I saw Rose working, she was the most polite and well mannered young child I've seen from your house. I've heard about your son Dudley, he could do with some punishing if you ask me. But Rose never rose a hand to anyone, never shouted, was never rude. Now, she and her friend here..."

"Other half, the Harry half." The Rose half interrupted quietly and furiously, but it seemed Silvia had heard, though didn't turn around.

"She and her other half Harry..." Silvia was cut off by Uncle Vernon.

"That's a bunch of child nonsense." He said with what looked to be a try at a smile, but he was too angry to do that, almost too angry to speak.

"And their admission of sleeping in a cupboard together? Is that a bunch of nonsense?" Silvia asked. "Or do you really keep them in a cupboard that's quite cramped?"

"That's none of your concern, and as I said, they like it there." Uncle Vernon said furiously. "Inside, both of you, and stop bothering this woman!"

"It's no bother at all, Mr. Dursley." Silvia stated. "In fact, why don't I keep them at my house for a while, give them some time to cool down."

"Fine, but don't complain to me when you find out what trouble makers they are." Uncle Vernon snapped, then slammed the door quite hard.

Silvia turned around and looked expressionless as she walked back toward them, the Harry and Rose being scowling angrily.

"Come with me." She said.

They followed her back to her house. As they entered, it was to see Justin Spenson putting on a nice suit jacket. He smiled at his wife, who returned the smile and kissed him.

"Have a good day at work." She said.

"And you enjoy sitting for the Dursley's again." Justin said in reply.

"It's a little more complicated than that, I suspect, but I'll soon find out." Silvia responded.

"Well, hope you enjoy it here, Rose." Justin said, coming to gently pat her on the shoulder. "Who's your friend?"

"The Harry half." The Rose half responded, some anger in her voice.

"I'll explain later." Silvia said.

"Okay, then." He said brightly. "I'll be back around ten tonight, they're keeping me rather late today."

"Ah. See you then." Silvia said with another smile, then Justin left the house.

"Okay, you two." She said.

"One, I'm one." The Harry and Rose being said furiously, but didn't shout.

"Okay." Silvia said, looking puzzled. "Let's talk about this calmly, okay? Come sit at the table."

The Harry and Rose being followed her and they sat down across from Silvia, who observed them with a puzzled frown.

"Why don't you tell me what led to you shouting." She said.

"Uncle Vernon pulled me from the cupboard by the hair and it's the day of the full moon. I'm emotional right now, okay? I can't help it." The Harry and Rose being said angrily.

"Okay." Silvia said calmly. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want..."

"I don't." The Harry and Rose being interrupted.

"It's rude to interrupt others when they're talking." Silvia stated with a frown. "Why don't the two of you sit quietly, or you can read some books. Which do you prefer?"

"Reading." The Harry and Rose being responded, still angry. They then added, "Please. And I'm sorry for interrupting."

Silvia smiled, then responded, "That's okay. I'll be right back."

She walked from the kitchen and the Harry and Rose being heard her getting things from boxes. She returned with some books in her hands, then separated them into even piles and placed them in front of each half. The Harry half picked up the top book on the pile as the Rose half did the same with hers. They began reading quietly and Silvia did some house work, occasionally asking them if they needed anything. They were caught up in their books, though, and despite reading two different ones, the Harry and Rose being could easily process and follow both stories at once.

Reading was a good distraction from their emotional state. They still felt the rage, but it was calmer now and would stay that way if nothing set it off again, like being provoked or yelled at, or made to do something they detested. By lunch, Silvia had finished the work she'd been doing and came over to them.

"You two hungry?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." The Harry and Rose being replied, remembering where they were in their books before closing them with identical movements.

"I was planning to make some sandwiches, is that okay?" She asked.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Okay, good." She said. As she turned and moved into the kitchen to cook, she asked, "What's with the two of you, always talking and moving in the same movements? You said you're one, but what does that mean?"

"You won't believe it." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Tell me anyway." Silvia said.

"I am the Harry half." He said as he stood and walked over to her. "I feel everything from me and the Rose half, see what the Rose half see's, know what the Rose half has and is experiencing. The Rose half is the same for me. It's like having two bodies, each aware of everything from the other along with itself. I don't know how to explain it any better."

"Do you mind if I perform a little test?" She asked.

"No." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Why do you do that, talk at the same time like that? Can't only one of you speak?" Silvia asked.

"Yes, as I showed you." The Harry half replied. "And the Rose half showed you when she was here alone."

"Yes, I suppose she did." Silvia said as she filled a bowl with water. "Okay, this is what I'd like to try. Will you put your hands in this, Harry, and tell me what it feels like? But tell me through Rose if you can."

"Yes." The Harry half said, then put his hands in the bowl.

"It's liquid." The Rose half spoke. "It's ice cold and feels like water, but something is inside it. It feels like a bottle."

Silvia's eyes widened as the Harry half removed his hands from the water, then dried them on a towel that Silvia had put next to the bowl.

"Really strange." She said, almost to herself. "Okay, one more thing. I want to whisper something to Rose, you tell me what I said, Harry."

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being responded.

Silvia walked over to the Rose half and whispered in her ear, then the Harry half spoke.

"I have my doubts but I'm starting to believe you." Silvia moved and Harry let out a gasp as the Rose half sat unmoving. "Your hair tickles on the Rose half's face!"

"Wow!" Silvia said in quiet awe as she moved away from the Rose half.

"If I'm here during the full moon, you'll see something else strange. The Rose half will change." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Does that have something to do with why you're emotional on the full moon?" Silvia asked.

"I think so but I'm not sure." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Well, I'll make you both something to eat." Silvia said as the Harry half sat back down. "You let me know if you want anything else, okay?"

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being responded.

The Harry and Rose being got to watch some movies after they ate, which they found enjoyable. They usually rarely laughed or had fun on the full moon days, and while they did enjoy the experience, their deep fury was still with them. It only intensified as the full moon drew closer, and by dinner, the Harry and Rose being didn't speak much. When they did, it was in short, terse words and sentences. Silvia could see the Harry and Rose being becoming more emotional and looking almost wild in a way, though they obeyed the things she asked of them.

"I think it's time I return you to the Dursley's." Silvia said at around seven in the evening.

"No." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly.

"I know both of you are angry, you certainly look it. But they're your guardians. I don't think they'd like me keeping you tonight."" Silvia said.

The Harry and Rose being stood swiftly and moved quickly to the door, glaring furiously at her. They'd thought she was different, but she wasn't. She was just like them, only more subtle about it.

"Why don't we compromise." Silvia said calmly behind them. The Harry and Rose being spun to face her, angrily scowling. "I'll go talk with the Dursley's and see what they say."

"Fine." The Harry and Rose being stated. Silvia put some shoes on and exited the house, leaving the door unlocked behind her. The Harry and Rose being stayed in the same place until Silvia returned.

"Well, seems they don't want you back until tomorrow morning." Silvia said. "They want you back at six o'clock sharp tomorrow."

The Harry and Rose being gave a quick nod and moved to sit on the couch in the living room. Silvia joined them as they stared straight ahead, then asked, "What do you two want to do, anything?"

"No." The Harry and Rose being stated.

"Okay." Silvia said, opening a book to read.

The Harry and Rose being sat completely still on the couch, holding hands and frowning with a dark fury. Silvia looked over at them, somewhat surprised they remained sitting still, neither venting their anger. Something was quite odd about these two, stranger than she expected. It wasn't just their bond, either, but also how the Dursley's treated them and seemed to want as little to do with them as possible, at least, for the moment. A while later, Silvia dropped the book as she heard a cry of pain from the Harry and Rose being, staring in sheer shock as the Rose half transformed. She seemed to grow a little larger, her features growing sharper and more athletic, her blue eyes reflecting a dark and feral state of mind. Her black hair grew longer as well and her nails seemed to sharpen into some type of claws. The transformation only took a few seconds. When it ended, she watched the Rose half stand and move swiftly to her.

"Are you okay?" Silvia said as she stood, deeply concerned.

She gasped, startled as the Rose half embraced her firmly, sniffing at her neck and hair. As Silvia hesitantly returned the embrace, the Rose half sighed and the Harry half stood behind her, watching with the same feral state of mind.

"I like you." The Harry and Rose being said, leaning against Silvia who embraced them both.

"What is this?" She asked in shock.

"Part of me." The Harry and Rose being stated, then moved away from Silvia who watched them, sinking down on the couch as she trembled, heart pounding.

The Harry and Rose being heard Silvia's pounding heart, smelled the scent of her shock and fear along with the various other scents of the house. They saw dust on various surfaces and the moonlight streaming in through the window. They moved into the various rooms of the house and explored the area, enjoying that it was new. The enhanced senses were captured through the Rose half, who explored with the Harry half walking behind her. She picked up various items and smelled their scent, ran her hands over things with a gentle touch, feeling everything in sharp and fine detail. The Harry and Rose being turned at the sound of Justin's car door closing, smelled him as he approached, heard his footsteps before he unlocked the door. They watched as he entered and stared at her, heard his pounding heart and smelled his own shock and fear as he recognized the Rose half despite her different looks. He stumbled and the Rose half swiftly moved to him, gripping his upper arms gently, holding him up and staring into his eyes.

"Rose, let him go." Silvia said with a trembling voice.

The Rose half did so, moving to the Harry half and wrapping an arm around him. Both Silvia and Justin were still quite afraid of them and they knew they were hated, feared. The Harry half moved to his shoes and slipped them on, the Rose half doing the same with her own. Since they were a couple sizes too large, she could do so easily despite her slight transformation. Before Silvia or Justin could stop them, the Harry and Rose being pushed the door open and exited into the cool night, the Rose half lifting the Harry half effortlessly before sprinting swiftly away, smelling the scents and hearing the sounds of the outside, something neither had ever experienced in this state before.

After a few minutes, the Rose half put the Harry half down and they wandered through the park and the streets, careful to remember where they were going. The Rose half smelled and touched various things as they explored, the Harry and Rose being fascinated by the differences in objects that seemed to be identical, though weren't when examined with the Rose half's sharpened senses. They continued to wander for a few hours, ducking into shadows when the Rose half heard and saw people coming and police patrolling the area. Eventually, they made their way back to the Dursley's house, violent anger at their situation thrumming through them. Silvia and Justin had been correct, though, they were their guardian.

Some of the anger faded as the Rose half transformed back into her usual smaller form and the Harry and Rose being curled up under the rose bushes, out of sight and drifting quickly to sleep. They woke when they heard the sounds of movement in the Dursley home from the Rose half. Though her senses weren't the same as they were on a full moon, they were better than a normal human's were. The Harry and Rose being got up with resigned anger and moved to the door, ringing the door bell. Uncle Vernon opened it, caught sight of them, then reached out and pulled the Harry and Rose being into the house. They didn't resist this time as he hauled them to their cupboard and shoved them inside, slamming the door behind them. They knew it would be worse for them if they had, and as their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the Harry and Rose being sighed, leaning against each other. 


	4. Chapter 4

A.N.  
Updated with a few minor edits, nothing that will change anything if you don't choose to read the chapter again.

Letters, notes, etc, will be surrounded by four dashes on a line like this.

I'm not much for formatting and such since I'm blind, but hope everyone is enjoying anyway.

Chapter 4 The Mysterious Letters and the School of Magic

Both the escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor and running to the Spenson's had given the Harry and Rose being the longest punishment they'd ever received. It wasn't until July 22 that they were released. Dudley had already made quite a mess out of his birthday presents. The Harry and Rose being weren't surprised by this, since Dudley ended up doing whatever he wanted with everything he received anyway. He had no sense of responsibility as the Harry and Rose being did. Since each half of them had a mind, they learned everything twice as fast as other children, as long as they were learning the same thing, though lacked all the emotional and mental maturity that came with experience. They still thought more than Dudley did, though, and wouldn't have ruined their gifts. They decided long ago that any gift they received should be treasured and appreciated for what it was, any gift but the useless items the Dursley's gave them, that is.

The day was fairly normal as life with the Dursley's went. With four days until the full moon, the Harry and Rose being were more emotional than they were at other times. Aunt Petunia was taking Dudley to buy his uniform for a school called Smeltings, a private school Uncle Vernon had attended and was both glad and proud to have Dudley attend. The Harry and Rose being felt hope at this, since that meant they would attend a different school than Dudley. Finally, the taunting and teasing at school would hopefully stop.

When Aunt Petunia left with Dudley, she dropped the Harry and Rose being off at Mrs. Figg's house. Before doing so, she'd sniffed and stated, "If you'd not done your freakish transforming, maybe the Spenson's would still want you and wouldn't have moved."

They had looked over at number two, where a new set of neighbors were moving in. The two individuals carrying boxes looked fairly normal as people went, nothing high class or ritzy. The Spenson's had moved out, and on hearing that, the Harry and Rose being blinked tears of sadness from their eyes. That had only confirmed what they'd already known. Sooner or later, everyone knew of the trouble the Harry and Rose being were. The only one that would ever take them in for an extended period was Mrs. Figg, though no strange events had ever happened there. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were careful to make sure it didn't.

As times at Mrs. Figg's house went, this was the most enjoyable the Harry and Rose being had ever had. As always when around her and many others, they acted separately despite how unnatural it felt. They only did so to prevent suspicion, and now more than ever, it was important they not reveal that they were one being, not two. They couldn't let anyone else know.

They were brought back to the Dursley's that afternoon, and after getting inside, spent some of their time dodging Dudley and a Smeltings stick he'd got with his uniform. They were irritated with him because of what he did trying to hit them, but didn't show it and did their best to control their emotions. When evening approached, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wanted to see Dudley in his entire uniform. The Harry and Rose being were also there to watch him flaunt it. He looked rather silly in his uniform, which consisted of maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats which were called boaters. The Smeltings stick they already knew of, but Dudley proudly explained that it was for hitting each other when the teachers weren't looking. Apparently, it was good training for later life, though the Harry and Rose being privately thought it was yet another way for Dudley to throw spoiled fits.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon gave their prideful proclamations and the Harry and Rose being held in their laughter. They felt more irritated than anything, along with a fierce ray of hope for the first of September. Stonewall High was going to be wonderful. No Dudley, no bullies to join with him. They should have known that was too good to last.

The smell was the first indication of something that wasn't quite right when the Harry and Rose being woke the next day. They entered the kitchen and spotted something that looked like dirty rags floating in gray water. Aunt Petunia was a person who liked everything to be clean, so the Harry and Rose being didn't imagine that it was some experiment of Dudley's, not that they'd put it past him to do such a thing. Dudley wasn't the most clean person.

"What's this?" The Harry half asked Aunt Petunia.

Her lips tightened, but she answered tersely, "Your new school uniform."

"Elephant skins or what?" The Rose half asked, the Harry and Rose being grinning at their joke despite how stupid it probably was to say. "This looks like something that'll be ugly when it's finished."

Aunt Petunia frowned and stated, "Don't you talk to me in that tone, girl. You'll look fine, and even if you don't look as nice as everyone else, which you will, it's all we can afford on you."

"I'm sure." The Rose half scoffed.

"What did I say?" Aunt Petunia said in a firm and strict voice.

"I don't care." The Harry and Rose being shot back.

"Don't you talk like that." Aunt Petunia said in a cold and strict voice. "Sit."

The Harry and Rose being sat, enjoying the danger of provoking the Dursley's despite how long it lasted. They didn't want to take it too far, but now was the time for as much leeway as they'd get from the Dursley's, since it was their emotional time of the month. The Dursley's were very careful to keep track of when the full moons were, so they knew how to treat them, and on such days, tolerated a little more from them than they would otherwise. Mainly, this was due to one too many times of being provoked, one of which had resulted in the Rose half breaking one of Uncle Vernon's fingers.

Dudley and Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen shortly after the Harry and Rose being sat, their noses wrinkled from the smell of their uniform. As usual, Uncle Vernon began reading his news paper. Dudley banged his Smeltings stick on the table and the Harry and Rose being glared at him, hating how he carried it everywhere and seemed to get great enjoyment from hitting it against things.

The click of the male slot was audible in the silence that ensued, along with the flop of letters on the doormat. Uncle Vernon then said, "Get the mail, Dudley." He didn't look up from his paper.

"Make Rose get it." Dudley said with a grin.

"Get the mail, Rose." Uncle Vernon stated.

The Rose half didn't argue, only stood and moved quickly to the front door with a frown of irritation. Four pieces of mail sat there. One was a post card from Marge, Uncle Vernon's sister. She was vacationing on the Isle of Wight. A envelope that looked like a bill sat next to it, and next to that were two letters, one to the Harry half and the other to the Rose half. They were addressed to individuals, though, not them as a single being.

The Harry and Rose being's heart shot with powerful emotion. No one had ever written to them in their lives. Perhaps it was the Spenson's, apologizing to them or seeking an explanation. The Rose half picked up each letter in a hand, peering closely at them. One was addressed to Mr. H. Potter, the other to Mrs. R. Potter. How curious, she thought to herself, reading the rest of the address.

The Cupboard under the Stairs 4- Privet- Drive Little Whinging Surrey

It was identical on both letters, indicating it couldn't be a mistake. If it was, it seemed foolish of the writer to make the same mistake twice, though also quite odd the address had been written so perfectly, down to where the Harry and Rose being slept. Looking more closely at the letters and flipping them over, the Rose half spotted a purple wax seal with a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. The envelopes were thick and heavy, made of some type of yellowish parchment and the addresses had been written in emerald green ink. It was odd, but the Harry and Rose being felt a deep curiosity to find out more.

"Hurry up, girl!" Uncle Vernon called. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs? Be sure to disarm them!" Uncle Vernon chuckled at his own joke.

"You don't have to shout." The Harry half stated. "I hear you fine."

"I'm aware of that, boy, stop with your cheek." Uncle Vernon stated with a voice of slight coolness.

The Rose half re-entered the kitchen and handed the bill and postcard to Uncle Vernon before sitting next to the Harry half and handing him his letter. The Harry and Rose being decided to open the Harry half's letter and read it first. They quickly did so and unfolded the letter, paying no attention to what was happening around them. As Dudley reached out to snatch the letter, at the same time telling Uncle Vernon they had something, the Rose half pulled her letter closer to her as Uncle Vernon tore the letter from the Harry half's hand.

"Come, girl, let's have it." Uncle Vernon said, snapping his fingers impatiently as he idly started to read the Harry half's letter.

"No, give it back." The Harry and Rose being said as Uncle Vernon's face started to rapidly change color.

"P-P-Petunia..." Uncle Vernon said, sounding as if he was panicking.

The Harry and Rose being jumped up from the table and sprinted for the cupboard. The Harry half was grabbed by Uncle Vernon but the Rose half ran for it, passing the cupboard entirely.

"Get her, Dudley!" Uncle Vernon shouted as the Rose half quickly slipped on her shoes, the Harry half being held by the back of the shirt.

Dudley moved after her as the Rose half opened the front door, stepped out, then slammed it behind her, sprinting quickly down the driveway and the roads, the letter held in her hands. She caught sight of something that looked like a person, but turned before she got a good look. She sprinted quickly for all she was worth, aware through the Harry half of the Dursley's frantically trying to follow. In response, the Harry half struggled with Uncle Vernon for the letter sent to him, but getting it was useless. Dudley, who had abandoned chasing her, wrestled the Harry half to the ground. They felt a burst of anger at that and Dudley leapt back as if shocked, howling. This caused Aunt Petunia, who was moving to get to the car, to turn and look back at him with concern.

"Didicans!" She called in her baby motherly voice.

"We've warned you about that, boy!" Uncle Vernon shouted, thrusting the Harry half toward the cupboard as the Rose half sprinted through the park and around several corners, coming to stop at a bench. She sat and opened the letter as the Harry half was shut in the cupboard, both reading through the Rose half.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sore., Chf Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)  
Dear Mrs. Potter,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress

The Rose half examined the letter further and noticed a second piece of paper, also realizing the letters were written on the same type of parchment as the envelope. She opened it and the Harry and Rose being read again.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY UNIFORM First-year students will require:  
1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear 3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags COURSE BOOKS All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble OTHER EQUIPMENT 1 wand 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials 1 telescope 1 set brass scales Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Just where were they supposed to get all that, they wondered curiously, and what was it about an owl? As if to answer her question, an owl hooted from above her, gliding down to rest next to her on the bench. A small package was attached to its leg. Curious, the Rose half untied the package from the owl, then opened it.

The package seemed to be a small ink vial, a quill, and a piece of parchment, perhaps to write with. Carefully, the Rose half opened the ink vial and dipped the quill inside, then began to write on the paper, the Harry and Rose being deciding to write from the view of the Rose half and with the view of an individual that she wasn't. Until they got to know Professor McGonagall better or met her in person, avoiding suspicion would be best.

Dear Headmistress McGonagall,  
The Dursley's are a family who does not believe in magic, though several strange events that occur around myself and Harry are difficult to explain as being normal. Perhaps Hogwarts exists, but it's also entirely possible this is some type of joke. Myself and Harry know nothing of magic what so ever. If such a thing exists along with this Hogwarts school, we would be delighted to attend and would kindly ask that you send a representative. If, however, this is some type of prank, it was quite poorly done and I say to you, don't do this on my bad day or Harry and I will come after you.

And really, Mrs. Potter? What am I, married? I don't think so.

Rose Potter

The Rose half handed the note to the owl and it clamped it in its beak before taking off into the sky.

"Thanks!" The Rose half called, then placed the Hogwarts letter back into her pocket, holding the ink and quill in a hand as she stood, heading back to the Dursley's. There was nothing to be done now but wait.

The Rose half opened the unlocked front door and stepped into the house as the Harry half tried to open the locked cupboard door. It didn't budge and the Rose half let out an irritated sigh before Uncle Vernon grabbed the ink and quill from her, looking furious.

"So." The Rose half stated. "Didn't want to tell me about Hogwarts, did you?"

Uncle Vernon paled dramatically.

"Yes, I know all about that. You didn't tell me I'm magical, why? Afraid of me, perhaps?" The Rose half asked angrily.

"I don't owe you any explanation, girl." Uncle Vernon said furiously, then seemed to twist his face into a painful contortion of a smile. "Now, we've been thinking... That perhaps you and Harry should move to Dudley's second bedroom. The cupboard is getting a little big for you."

"It's about time." The Rose half stated coldly.

"Don't you cheek me, girl, or you'll be staying there!" Uncle Vernon said, but the Harry and Rose being were tired of Uncle Vernon's abuse, were sick of listening to him shout at them because of something unfounded. The Rose half straightened with the confidence they felt.

"Well, then I'll just have to write to Hogwarts and tell them you're keeping me locked up, but that I still want to attend. I wonder what Professor McGonagall would do then." The Rose half said boldly.

Uncle Vernon seemed to pale again, then gathered himself and unlocked the cupboard door, letting the Harry half out.

"Get your things and get to the second bedroom! Now!" Uncle Vernon shouted strictly, then stormed off as Dudley started to cry.

"I don't want him in there!" Dudley shouted, stomping his feet as the Harry and Rose being gathered their items in their arms and closed the cupboard door, then headed up to the room.

Life didn't get much better than this. The room they were in was larger than any they'd been allowed in before, and they were going to Hogwarts school. Excited, the Harry and Rose being looked around different parts of the room, the Harry half taking one half and the Rose half another, examining the various objects. There wasn't much accept a few broken items and some books. A couple of the items weren't broken, such as a cage that had held a parrot, and a small, working tank. After placing the clothes in the wardrobe, they grabbed a couple of the books and started to read without anything better to do.

The Harry and Rose being were amused by Dudley's attempts to reclaim his second bedroom at first, but now, a few hours later, it was getting quite annoying. The Harry and Rose being closed their books with a sigh, then the Harry half moved to the window and peered out, gazing at the identical houses and gardens. Quite suddenly, a tall, stern looking woman appeared and began calmly walking up the sidewalk as if appearing out of nowhere was an every day occurrence. Their heart leapt with a hopeful joy and the Harry and Rose being moved to the door, opening it to come face to face with Dudley.

"I want my room back!" He shouted angrily, his hands balled into fists.

"Talk to Aunt Petunia." The Harry and Rose being said, not caring how it would look to the Dursley's.

Dudley let out a cry that sounded remarkably like a baby as he stomped his feet and swung his Smeltings stick toward them. The Rose half knocked it from his hand where it clattered to the floor. The Harry and Rose being then pushed their way from the room and closed the door behind them, moving down the stares as Aunt Petunia, looking quite frazzled and upset, passed them saying, "Didicans, I know it's terrible, it's horrible!"

The doorbell rang and Aunt Petunia called for them to get the door, since they were down there anyway. With a grin, the Harry and Rose being went to the door and the Rose half pulled it open, their excitement overpowering the anger they usually felt.

"Are you from Hogwarts?" The Harry and Rose being asked hopefully, then added, "I saw you appear out of nowhere."

"Yes, I am." The woman responded, looking as if she was hiding surprise. The look only lasted a brief instant. "I am Professor McGonagall. I teach transfiguration at Hogwarts."

"I'll get sick! I will!" Dudley's voice floated easily to them, then they heard the sound of him throwing up.

Professor McGonagall's lips pressed into a frown, then she said, "I presume that is your cousin, Dudley, Mr. Potter."

"The cousin of the Harry half, yes." The Harry and Rose being said, needing to know now if they would be accepted as they were.

"I beg your pardon?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking confused.

"You see me as two individuals, but I'm one." The Harry and Rose being said, then each half spoke separately.

"I am the Harry half."

"I am the Rose half."

"You said Mrs. Rose Potter in the letter, why?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "We're not married, we're a single being."

Professor McGonagall frowned and their hopes were dashed, their hopes of them being recognized as a single being, that was.

"You may play this game of yours if you wish, but I can assure you that doing so in Hogwarts will not help you achieve anything. As for the manner of address, each child who is able to attend Hogwarts has their name written in a book, which is updated magically. Yours was Mrs. Rose Potter, thus the letter's address. It is my belief that yourself and Mr. Potter are soul bonded, which does not entail you being one being in any sense of the word." Professor McGonagall responded.

"But I am one being." The Harry and Rose being said. "You don't believe it because you see me as two, but I'm one. If I'm really magical and going to attend a magical school, I want to be accepted as I am. Do you want to enter?"

"Very well." Professor McGonagall said.

The Harry and Rose being stepped back and Professor McGonagall entered, closing the door behind her as Aunt Petunia hurried down the stares, then stopped as she caught sight of her.

"You!" She shrieked furiously. "How dare you enter our home!"

"Mrs. Dursley, I am Professor McGonagall from Hogwarts school." She stated firmly. "Harry and Rose Potter will attend as their right as magicals. If you stop them, their outbursts of magic, which I am sure you have seen, will be nothing compared to what will happen if they do not learn to control their magic. Is that what you want, Mrs. Dursley?"

Each time Professor McGonagall said the word magic, Aunt Petunia flinched. She seemed to be furious, though.

"I will not allow them to attend the same freak school my Sister attended, the same one that got the Potter's blown up and landed their freak twin children with us!" Aunt Petunia said.

"You said our parents died in a car crash!" The Harry and Rose being shouted furiously. "Why did you lie, why!" A near bye mirror exploded and Aunt Petunia screamed, ducking and covering her head. Calmly, Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand and waved it.

"Reparo." She said, the pieces of glass flying back into the mirror, and within moments, it looked completely new again. The Harry and Rose being gripped hands and breathed deeply, doing their best to calm down.

"Your parents did not die in a car crash, Mr. Potter. As for your parents, Mrs. Potter, I am uncertain who they might be. However, there is a fairly easy test we can perform with a family heritage potion and a lock of your hair. If, that is, you wish to know who your parents are." Professor McGonagall continued.

"Yes, I would. How did the parents of the Harry half die?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"I shall explain as we walk." Professor McGonagall responded. "I assume you wish to attend Hogwarts."

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Very well." Professor McGonagall said. "Follow me."

They followed Professor McGonagall from the house, who discretely waved her wand behind her, closing and locking the door behind them. They grinned briefly at the display of magic, Professor McGonagall slipping her wand into a pocket and heading down the road. The Harry and Rose being kept up with her, each half moving to one side of her.

"I presume you are aware of the many wars the Muggles, non-magical people like the Dursley's, have had among themselves." Professor McGonagall said.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Witches and Wizards, people such as yourself and I, also have wars of our own. About twenty years ago, an extremely evil wizard rose to power. We refer to him in the wizarding world as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or You-Know-Who." Professor McGonagall said.

"But I don't know his name, Professor." The Harry and Rose being said. "And wouldn't being afraid of his name, so terrified as to not even say it, only cause more fear and maybe make it greater?"

"You aren't aware of the fear he did place in others, and the fear others still have." Professor McGonagall said, stopping at the corner. "If you are both ready to proceed, we will be apparating to a place called Diagon Alley, where you will buy your supplies."

"But Professor, I don't have any money." The Harry and Rose being said. "And we still don't know who, Professor."

"Very well, if you must." Professor McGonagall said, then took a deep breath, looking as if she was preparing for something monumental. "V-V-V-Voldemort." She shuttered, looking utterly terrified. "Do not repeat that to others."

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being said. "But I don't see why, Voldemort didn't come out."

Professor McGonagall flinched in fear at the sound of the name, then took a few deep breaths to collect herself.

"That name is the name of a wizard who struck terror, a terror like no other, into the wizarding world. People still fear the name even now. That is why, in brief terms. Now, are you ready to proceed?" She asked.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Take my hands." Professor McGonagall directed. "Hold on tightly."

The Harry and Rose being did as directed and Professor McGonagall glanced at the Rose half in surprise, probably due to her increased body temperature. She then turned on the spot, almost wrenching their hands from hers in the process. The Harry and Rose being then felt as if they were being squeezed through a very small tube, unable to breathe and seeing flashing colors and lights around them. It was as if a band was compressing very tightly around their chest, their eyes bulging from their sockets, their bodies feeling as if they were being squeezed and compressed, almost crushed. The unpleasant sensation ended and the Harry and Rose being's knees buckled as they gasped, tears streaming from their eyes.

"The first time is always the worst." Professor McGonagall said understandingly. The Harry and Rose being held on to her for support for a few moments, then straightened.

"Okay. I'm ready." The Harry and Rose being said after a few deep breaths.

"Don't wander." Professor McGonagall instructed, then led them into what looked to be a rather busy shopping center. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Diagon Alley and Revelations

Immediately, the Harry and Rose being looked in two different directions, sweeping their eyes along the various shops to get a good look at everything, their joy and excitement overwhelming their deep anger. It was wonderful and marvelous. They couldn't stop grinning as they stared at all the shops they could see. One had a stack of cauldrons outside it, with a sign above it that read, Cauldrons-All Sizes-Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver-Self-Stirring-Collapsible. There was an Apothecary, an owl shop, pet shop, something that looked to be a potions shop, a book store, a shop that had something to do with Quidditch, what looked to be an Ophthalmologist shop, windows piled high with telescopes, globes of the moon, a shop selling Robes and Cloaks along with other clothes, and a large white marble building called Gringotts, which Professor McGonagall was headed toward. The Harry and Rose being followed her up a set of steps to its entrance, which contained a short creature that bowed them through a set of bronze doors. They caught sight of words engraved on a second set of doors and read it.

Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief you have been warned, beware Of finding more than treasure there.

They were bowed through by two other creatures, which were about a head shorter than the Harry half. Their faces looked swarthy and clever, their beards were pointed, and their fingers and feet looked very long. Their uniforms were scarlet and gold. The Harry and Rose being didn't say anything, but was curious about the creatures and what they might be.

The inside of the bank was a hive of activity. The creatures were examining various jewels through eye glasses, weighing coins with brass scales, and writing various things. Too many doors to count led off in various directions, which people were being led to and from by the creatures. Professor McGonagall approached one of the creatures that seemed available, the Harry and Rose being behind her as they stared around in amazement.

"Good morning." She stated. "We have come to remove some money from Mr. Potter's vault."

The Harry and Rose being felt puzzled, since they knew the Harry half didn't have money. That only lasted a moment, though, realizing that the parents of the Harry half likely left him quite a bit of money. As they thought, Professor McGonagall handed the creature a tiny golden key, which was examined critically.

"That seems to be in order. I shall have someone take you to the vault." The creature said, then called, "Griphook!"

Another of the creatures hurried over to them and they followed him through one of the doors. It led to a passage way that was made of stone. It was narrow, with torches that lit it, sloping deeply down and containing railway tracks of some kind. Griphook let out a whistle and a cart came speeding up the tracks toward them.

They climbed in and the cart took off, seeming to know its own way. The Harry and Rose being grinned widely and looked around, trying to keep track of the many turns the cart took. It was impossible, though. The air seemed cold as it rushed past their faces and as the Harry half spotted a burst of flame from a passage, the Rose half looked and caught a glimpse of scales before they were past the area, going even deeper and passing what looked to be an underground lake of some kind. Within a few seconds, the cart came to a stop and the Harry and Rose being climbed from the cart with Griphook. Professor McGonagall came with them, handing the Harry half two bags and watching them as they approached a door. Griphook unlocked it and quite a bit of green smoke billowed out. When it cleared, they could see heaps of coins that were different colors.

"The gold coins are Galleons, the silver are Sickles. Seventeen Sickles is equal to a Galleon, and twenty-nine Knuts is equal to a Sickle." Professor McGonagall explained calmly.

"Wow." The Harry and Rose being said, then scooped quite a bit of the coins into the bags with Professor McGonagall's help. This was more money than they'd ever laid eyes on, or had ever carried before. When they finished, they closed the bags and made their way back to the cart, Griphook closing the vault behind them.

"Thank you, Griphook." The Harry and Rose being said. He nodded and they climbed back into the cart, speeding back toward the surface.

The Harry and Rose being had thought about where to go first since they had quite a bit of money in their bags. After they exited Gringotts, they turned to Professor McGonagall and said, "I'd like to visit the glasses shop."

"Very well, then." Professor McGonagall replied. "While we are inside, do not speak as one, act as the individuals you are."

They followed her to a shop called Potions and Proscriptions For Your Vision. The name seemed somewhat unimaginative, but they didn't mind as long as the Harry half got a better proscription. They sighed quietly at Professor McGonagall's continued refusal to believe they were one being instead of two, but would go along with it for the moment.

The door opened and a bell softly chimed. As they entered, they spotted racks of glasses and various potions. It was a fairly small shop, and behind a counter was a tall, slender woman who gave them a bright smile.

"Good morning!" She said cheerfully. The Harry half stepped forward as the Rose half and Professor McGonagall remained behind.

"Hello." The Harry half said. "I was wondering if I could get my glasses checked.

"Certainly." She said, then stared at Harry's forehead, her eyes widening. After a long moment, the woman said in an excited voice, "Mr. Potter, we can definitely help you with that today. It's so very, very good to meet you!"

Confused, the Harry half held out his hand and the woman took it in hers with a powerful grasp, shaking it quite enthusiastically. After she released it, she rounded the counter and led the Harry half to a back wall that seemed to be covered in an array of letters and numbers.

"Look here, please." The woman said. "Tell me when everything is clear for you."

The Harry half looked where directed, then the woman pulled out a long wooden stick, lightly tapping each of the Harry half's lenses on his glasses. The Harry half blinked as everything blurred, then sharpened. It continued to grow sharper until it started to blur again, at which point the Harry half told her what he'd seen. The woman tapped his glasses again and the sharp, clear vision returned.

"That one." The Harry half indicated.

The woman clapped her hands in a delighted way, then said, "I'll just have to make that permanent for you, this will take a few minutes." She tapped the glasses again, and for a moment, everything clouded before becoming blurred. His vision went through several variations from clear to cloudy, to almost a complete darkness, the woman tapping the Harry half's eye glasses all the while, seeming to be concentrating. Once a few minutes had passed, the Harry half's vision returned to the same sharp look as before.

"Thanks." The Harry half said. "That was fast."

"It's not a problem at all." The woman said. "Muggle proscriptions are very simple and don't take very long to change. The proscription should update for you as you get older, so you shouldn't ever have to get your glasses replaced again. You may have to visit here a few more times in your life, but it should take just as long as it did today. Is there anything else we can do for you? Any special charms we can put on your glasses?"

"No thanks." The Harry half responded.

"Well, I'm glad to have been of service for you! Come back again soon!" The woman said with a beaming smile.

"Um, how much do I pay you?" The Harry half asked.

"Nothing, Mr. Potter, I'm honored to help a person like you, especially after what you did for us. Enjoy, Mr. Potter!" She said cheerfully.

"Thanks." The Harry half said, then as the three of them left the shop, heard the woman quietly squeal in excitement behind them.

"What was that about?" The Harry and Rose being asked Professor McGonagall.

"In brief terms, when You-Know-Who attempted to kill you after killing your parents, Mr. Potter, the curse backfired on him. That is why you have the lightning bolt shaped scar, and why you are famous." Professor McGonagall said. "You are known as The-Boy-Who-Lived by much of the wizarding world. I would be unsurprised if you receive such treatment elsewhere. Some believe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't actually dead, biding his time before he will rise again."

"Oh." The Harry and Rose being paused for a few moments, the news she'd told them sinking in. "Thanks for telling me, Professor." They finally added.

"You're quite welcome." Professor McGonagall said. "Where do you wish to go next?"

"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions." The Harry and Rose being responded.

They saw where it was and began walking toward it, Professor McGonagall between the Harry and Rose halves. They entered to face a squat woman dressed in mauve, who smiled at them.

"Hogwarts, Dears?" She asked before they spoke.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Follow me, then." She said. "Got the lot here, some being fitted in the back right now, in fact."

The woman, who's name tag read Madam Malkin, stood the Harry half on a stool and another witch helped the Rose half as she also stood on a stool, the Harry and Rose being gazing around the shop as their robes were pinned to the appropriate lengths. They were finished a few minutes later and thanked Madam Malkin, paying her for their uniforms before leaving.

As they started walking toward a shop that had quills and parchment, the Harry and Rose being caught sight of the Quidditch shop again. Curious, they asked, "Professor McGonagall, what is Quidditch?"

"It's a sport which is quite popular in the magical world." Professor McGonagall replied. "You will see it played at Hogwarts. It is played on broomsticks, which fly through the air. There are four balls. Two of them are called the Bludgers, which are used to knock apposing team members off their brooms, or to use as interference, batted by the beaters. Another is the Quaffle, which is used by the chasers to score. The keeper blocks the goal posts, there are three of those at each end of the field. The seeker looks for the last ball, the golden Snitch, which flies quite fast. A normal scoring in the game with the Quaffle is only ten points, but when the seeker catches the Snitch, that is worth one-hundred and fifty points. The Snitch is by far the most important ball in the game."

"Sounds interesting." The Harry and Rose being said, smiling a little.

They bought their parchment, quills, and vials of ink, some of which were quite cool, including ink that changed colors as you wrote. There were also other, more flashy types of ink on display, but they settled for a kit that provided them with different vials of ink that were various colors, along with several high quality quills. Next, they went to the book store called Flourish and Blotts. It was there they found their books for Hogwarts, along with many others. Like the rest of the magical world, some of these books seemed quite out of the ordinary. Aside from the titles, there were books as large as paving stones, books that were as small as postage stamps, even books that seemed to have nothing in them at all, which was quite odd. They enjoyed simply looking at the strange books in the shop, but decided not to test Professor McGonagall's sternness any further than they had to.

At yet another shop, they purchased their cauldron, along with scales and various implements for measuring, cutting, and stirring potions and their ingredients. They briefly thought of buying a solid gold cauldron, but knew that was rather wasteful to purchase if they didn't have to. Treasure the gifts, they reminded them self. The money was a gift, after all, from the Harry half's parents.

After purchasing the items, including a collapsible brass telescope, they went to the Apothecary. There were many strange ingredients on display there and they purchased everything they needed for their first year. After that, they proceeded to a potions store, which contained a variety of different potions that were in sealed vials and already made. Some listed final ingredients that needed to be added, such as a drop of blood, phoenix tears, or many others. Professor McGonagall greeted the owner behind the counter and asked for a potion called Magia Familia Hereditatem. At the Harry and Rose being's puzzled expression, she said, "This potion will determine who your parents are, as it will, once placed on a piece of parchment, tell you who you have inherited your magic from. In most cases, this is your parents, but in some such as Muggle born families, it can tell you several generations back."

"Here we are." The man said, placing a small vial on the desk. "Something from the tester should be added before use, of course, and it's fourteen Galleons."

The Rose half scooped the coins from the bag and placed them on the counter, taking the vial from the man as he handed it to her.

"Thank you, ma'am, and good day to you." He said pleasantly.

"You're welcome, sir." The Rose half said pleasantly, then the three of them left.

"Your wand is the only item left on your list." Professor McGonagall said. "Do you both wish to purchase them now, or perform the inheritance test?"

"Wands!" The Harry and Rose being said with excitement, the Rose half slipping the potion's vial into her pocket.

"I thought otherwise." Professor McGonagall said, raising an eyebrow.

"The test has no time limit we won't work within. According to the label, the potion expires in ten years." The Harry and Rose being said. "I want to get my wands first."

"Quite understandable." Professor McGonagall responded, leading the way to the wand shop. A sign above the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. In the window was a wand resting on a faded purple cushion.

A bell rang softly from the depths of the shop as they entered. Narrow boxes were piled high against the walls, nearly reaching the ceiling. A spinning chair sat in the shop aside from the boxes and Professor McGonagall sat to wait. The Harry and Rose being felt an odd tingling on their bodies, as if this place contained some type of powerful and secret magic. Closing their eyes, they basked in the sensation.

"Wondrous, is it not?" A man's voice said softly from in front of them. The Harry and Rose being opened their eyes, only slightly startled. Professor McGonagall glanced at the man, who was staring at the Harry and Rose being with wide, pale eyes that shined like moons. This must be Ollivander, they reasoned.

"I like it." The Harry and Rose being said. "It feels old, secret somehow."

"Yes indeed." Mr. Ollivander responded. "Curious, curious." His eyes traveled to their clasped hands, then up to their faces. "It seems only yesterday your mother was here, purchasing her wand, Mr. Potter. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow, a wand suited for charms work." Mr. Ollivander moved closer, his eyes looking rather creepy as they fixed on them unwaveringly. "Your father, on the other hand, was chosen by another, quite different wand. Mahogany, Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. The wand always chooses the wizard, of course."

The Harry and Rose being stepped away from Mr. Ollivander, who had gotten uncomfortably close to the Harry half. His pale eyes focused now on the Rose half and he observed her with an assessing gaze.

"Interesting, interesting." He muttered to himself. "Twin wands will choose you, I think. As it just so happens, I have two such twin pairs in my possession." Pulling out his own wand, Mr. Ollivander summoned four boxes to him. The Harry and Rose being watched in awe as the boxes floated to him. Carefully, almost reverently, he opened two of them to reveal identical wands.

"I presume, Mr. Potter, that your wand hand is your right, and you, Ms. your left?" Mr. Ollivander asked.

"If by wand hand you mean what I write with, that can be so, though I'm ambidextrous." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Good, good." Mr. Ollivander said, handing them each a wand. "Ten inches, ebony, with a core of Dragon Heartstrings."

"What do I do?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Give them a wave." Mr. Ollivander explained.

They had hardly risen them before Mr. Ollivander took them.

"No, no, I think not." He said, then took the second pair from their boxes. "Holly and Phoenix feather, twelve and a half inches, nice and supple."

The moment he handed them the wands, the Harry and Rose being felt a curious warmth in their bodies. They waved the wands, sending deep golden sparks swirling from their tips and floating around them. Mr. Ollivander looked quite excited, then said, "Switch wands and hands for me, if you will." They did so and waved them again, and again, the sparks emanated. He clapped and placed them back in their boxes, handing them to them.

"Quite curious indeed." Mr. Ollivander said. "Curious, curious."

"What is curious?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Twin wands are usually reputed to choose only those who share a very rare and unique bond, a bond long since lost to roomer and speculation. The bond is known as the single soul bond. Unlike the more commonly found soul bond, the single soul bond is quite rare. Can you guess why?"

"There is only one soul between those bonded?" The Harry and Rose being responded. "That would make sense."

"Quite correct. But, as I said, it's a bond lost to legend and roomer. I myself only know of it through tails told to me. It would seem, however, that with both of you, legend has become a reality. I hear how you both speak, see your identical body language and how comfortable you both are with one another. Never let anyone come between you, always remain the one being I suspect you are. Guard your bond, guard it well." Mr. Ollivander said.

"I don't have a bond, I'm one being." The Harry and Rose being frowned a little, then asked, "Does it mean anything else to have twin wands?" They already knew about them being one being in two bodies, it wasn't new to them. Knowing the name of the bond would be helpful, though, and they remembered, even if they didn't view them self as being bonded in any sense of the word.

"In fact, it does. When used together, your spells will be more powerful. When dueling or going against one another, you will find that your wands will likely dissipate spells upon contact. This is unlike the effect of brother wands. It is quite curious you have a wand so close to that of a student I once sold a wand to. Phoenix feather and Yew, thirteen inches. The wand that gave you that scar, Mr. Potter. I had wondered if you were to be chosen by it's brother, but instead, you have been chosen by wands who's feathers were taken from the parent Phoenix to that which gave the feathers for the wand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and it's brother. It seems you will accomplish great things indeed with your other half." Mr. Ollivander said.

"Oh." The Harry and Rose being replied, then thought of Professor McGonagall storing her wand in a pocket. To them, that seemed unwise. "Is there something I can put my wands in that will stop them from being taken? Also, is Voldemort's wand the one that gave the Harry half the scar?"

Professor McGonagall flinched at the word Voldemort being spoken, and Mr. Ollivander's eyes widened slightly.

"Yes, indeed it is." Mr. Ollivander said with a grave frown. After a moment, he smiled slightly. "Not many wish to own a wand holster these days, referring to your other question. However, I still make them for those select few." He used his wand to retrieve another set of boxes and opened them. "These will automatically resize and are keyed to the wearer, though in your case, will likely be keyed to both of you." He took the Rose half's wrist and placed a holster on it, then slipped her wand inside. "Go on and flick your wrist." The Rose half did so and her wand sprang from the holster. She caught it in the tips of her fingers, fumbling slightly.

"It will take practice, but I have confidence in your ability to become proficient. These holsters allow your wand to be unnoticed by those whom it is not keyed to, and will prevent theft by any means, including disarming." Mr. Ollivander said, placing the second holster on the Harry half's wrist and sliding his wand inside. "Now, tell me. Can you each see each other's holsters?"

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being replied after examining their wrists.

"Excellent." Mr. Ollivander said in a delighted manner, closing the four empty boxes he held. With a wave of his wand, he vanished them and sent the two boxes containing the wands that did nothing for them back to their places.

"That will be twenty-four Galleons." He said.

The Harry and Rose being got twelve Galleons from each bag they held, handing them to him. He smiled at that, then bid them a good day. They left with Professor McGonagall, who led them down the alley until they reached what looked to be a blank wall. Taking out her wand, she tapped a specific brick and they watched as an archway formed. Grinning and feeling delight from the display of magic, they followed her into a pub of some kind, which was called The Leaky Cauldron. It seemed to be empty accept for a man that looked to be the bar keeper.

"Professor McGonagall." He said pleasantly. "It isn't often I see you here."

"We simply came for some privacy." Professor McGonagall replied. "Have you a room available?"

"Certainly." The man said.

They followed him to a small room, which contained a table and some chairs. He bowed and left, then the Harry and Rose being sat down with Professor McGonagall, who looked at them apologetically.

"I apologize for not taking what you told me into consideration, that you could possibly be one being and not two." She said. "I hope that you would forgive me for my oversight."

"We aren't perfect, of course I forgive you." The Harry and Rose being said as they smiled, the Rose half pulling out the small vial and a piece of parchment, reading the label and its instructions.

"Are you certain this is something you wish to know?" Professor McGonagall asked, gazing intently at the Rose half.

"Yes, I'm certain." The Harry and Rose being responded, opening the vial.

"Then I'll assist you." Professor McGonagall responded, reaching forward and taking a lock of hair between her fingers. With her wand, the hair was severed neatly without pain. Carefully, Professor McGonagall placed it in the vial, the potion within turning a brown color before turning gray. The Rose half lifted it carefully in her hands, gazing at it curiously.

"It should have turned white." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Given your bond, perhaps the potion requires a hair from both of you." Professor McGonagall said. "May I?"

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being said.

Professor McGonagall repeated the procedure for the Harry half and the potion turned white as it was supposed to. Carefully, the Rose half poured the potion on the parchment, which turned a bright gold before words formed, the potion seeming to have vanished. The Harry and Rose being stared at it and Professor McGonagall looked a little confused at the results.

"What does this mean?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

On the parchment were their names, Harry James Potter and Rose Marie Potter. A gold line connected them together, then a red line went from each name to the word unknown.

"I am not certain, but it would seem the potion is unable to determine your magical heritage. I confess, I am at a loss to determine why this is. I can't imagine the potion was made incorrectly, but a bond such as yours is quite rare. It may simply be that the potion will not function properly in your situation." Professor McGonagall replied.

"So, I won't know who my parents are, then." The Harry and Rose being said sadly.

"Not for the Rose half of you." Professor McGonagall replied.

"They would have been the most important, the Rose half's parents are probably still alive." The Harry and Rose being stated. "We're ready to go, Professor."

"Very well." Professor McGonagall said, standing with the Harry and Rose being and vanishing the vial and parchment with a wave of her wand.

"Professor McGonagall, before we go, there's something you should know about me." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Aside from your unique bond?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes. Every full moon, I'm prone to anger and quite a temper." The Harry and Rose being explained. "This is strongest on the day of the full moon, but fades each day seven days before and after the full moon. On the full moon, the Rose half transforms a little into a taller, larger version of herself who is stronger and has more finely tuned senses. I'm far more emotional and feral at that time, too." They paused with a sudden thought. "Will this effect my schooling? Will my bond effect it? It's been a problem in the past."

"Your bond may be difficult for the professors to accept. Frankly, given that the bond you share is purely roomer and contains no actual proof of it's existence but your word, it's rather difficult for me to accept as well." Professor McGonagall responded. "I will observe you, and should I wish to know more about your bond, would you be willing to answer questions regarding it?"

"Yes, I'm willing to answer questions, but I only use the word bond to describe it because it's what you relate to. For me, it's my nature, it's who I am." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"I can't say that I understand, but I will do my best to make the attempt." Professor McGonagall said.

"That's more than most have done." The Harry and Rose being said. "Thank you, Professor."

"You are welcome." Professor McGonagall responded. "Is there anything more you wish to tell me?"

"No." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Follow me, then." Professor McGonagall stated.

They followed her back into the courtyard where the entrance to Diagon Alley was. Once there, Professor McGonagall pulled two slips of paper from a pocket in her robes, handing them to each half of the Harry and Rose being.

"This is your ticket to the train for Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall stated. "As you will notice, the platform number is nine and three quarters. The entry to the platform is not immediately obvious, but at King's Cross station, you shall see a barrier between platforms nine and ten. Walk straight into the barrier and you will move through it to the platform. It may look solid, but don't fear it as it won't hurt you."

"Thanks for telling us." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"You are quite welcome." Professor McGonagall said. "I shall return you to the Dursley's, where you may wish to remain for now. Take my arms."

The Harry and Rose being took her arms, shopping bags hanging on their arms. After the familiar constricting feel of apparition, they found themselves on the corner of Privet Drive, resigned to remaining with the Dursley's, at least, for a while longer. Professor McGonagall wished them luck and bid them a good day, then vanished, leaving the Harry and Rose being to walk to the Dursley home with their packages and the hopes of a whole new adventure ahead of them.

Professor McGonagall entered the office of the Headmaster, Dumbledore, who looked up at her with a smile, blue eyes twinkling. A few minutes had passed since she'd left the Potter's to make their way to the Dursley's.

"And what can I do for you this fine afternoon?" He asked.

"Rose Potter is alive, Albus." Professor McGonagall replied.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes widened with surprise.

"So, we were deceived." He said in a pensive voice, pondering.

"It would appear so." Professor McGonagall said. "Albus, they claimed, and Mr. Ollivander verified in his own way, that they have the single soul bond."

"If this is truly the case, we must not reveal this to anyone." Professor Dumbledore said gravely. "I doubt we can alert them to the danger such knowledge would bring them. If I am correct, they view them self, for lack of a better term, as a single person in two bodies."

"Yes, it would seem so." Professor McGonagall replied. "It's not an easy thing to accept, Albus, one person in two bodies? Such a thing is only legend!"

"Yes." Professor Dumbledore stated. "And attempting to have them act differently, would likely be useless. I advise against making such an attempt."

"There's one other thing, Albus. Rose Potter wanted to know who her parents were." Professor McGonagall said.

"Something such a young child should not have to bear." Professor Dumbledore responded. "Better, perhaps, if that were hidden for now."

"I disagree, Albus, I believe they should know, and could handle the truth given to them. But in any case, the Magia Familia Hereditatem potion failed." Professor McGonagall stated.

"There are very few cases in which such a thing will occur." Professor Dumbledore responded, stroking his long beard. "The only known case I am aware of, is one in which the magical signature of the individual was altered so dramatically that the blood lines could not be followed."

"We had to use a hair from Mr. Potter before the potion turned the correct color." Professor McGonagall explained.

"Which would, once again, support their having the single soul bond. They will likely be very powerful. I suggest we watch them, and if necessary, teach them control." Professor Dumbledore said. "It is likely, that unlike most, their magical output will be doubled if they attempt a spell together. They may also learn concepts quicker, as their minds are likely shared as one."

"And how is it, Albus, that you know so much about this single soul bond?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I admit, most is guess work. However, I pried myself on my guesses being correct most of the time." Professor Dumbledore responded.

"Well." Professor McGonagall said. "I have some packets to write up for some of our Muggle born students."

"Very well, then." Professor Dumbledore stated.

The door to the office closed behind Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore sighed deeply. It was time for another look at the prophecy. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Acceptance and the Journey to Hogwarts

The last month the Harry and Rose being spent with the Dursley's was quite boring and no fun at all. They were ignored by Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, who interacted with them as little as possible. Dudley, on the other hand, kept poking fun at them and trying to provoke them into some kind of action. On the day of the full moon when he did this, the Harry and Rose being screamed at him to stop before they transformed him into a pig, then slammed their room door so hard it rattled. Unknown to them, Dudley had gained a pig's tail from their accidental magic, though they learned about it later, the Dursley's saying nothing to them about the incident. In fact, they almost looked rather afraid of them, something they were glad for.

They spent the time reading their books, each half reading a different one. Not only did they read, they attempted to comprehend the material so they would know everything they could before attending Hogwarts. They didn't really understand it, though it wasn't for lack of trying.

Aside from reading their books, the Harry and Rose being spent time dwelling on what Hogwarts would be like. They felt excitement about the magic they'd seen so far, along with a deep curiosity about what they'd read in their books. They imagined many things, but more than simply imagining their upcoming adventure, they were looking forward to actually experiencing it.

On the last day of August, the Harry and Rose being went down to talk with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon about going to king's cross. The Harry half cleared his throat to get their attention from the show that was capturing their attention. Dudley, who had been utterly terrified of the Harry and Rose being after the pig's tail, screamed and ran from the room as quickly as he could.

"Uncle Vernon?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

Uncle Vernon grunted, acknowledging what they'd said.

"I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to get to Hogwarts." The Harry and Rose being added.

Uncle Vernon grunted again.

"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"You think after what you did that we're giving you a lift anywhere?" Uncle Vernon shouted, his face turning purple with his anger. "You gave Dudley that ruddy tail that we've got to go and get removed tomorrow in London! And why King's Cross, taking the train, are you? Magic carpets all have punctures, do they?"

"I'm taking the train, yes, at platform nine and three quarters." The Harry and Rose being responded.

Uncle Vernon roared with laughter. That couldn't be good, they thought.

"Well, then, we'll drop you off there!" He said. "Not much out of our way or we wouldn't bother taking you at all. You be ready before we are, or you won't be going! Barking mad, the lot of them, you'll see!"

"Thanks, Uncle Vernon." The Harry and Rose being replied quietly.

Uncle Vernon grunted and turned away from them. Quietly, the Harry and Rose being returned to their room and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. At least they had their ride, but the Harry and Rose being had a feeling it wouldn't be a pleasant one.

At five o'clock the next morning, they woke and changed into jeans, deciding to put on their robes some time after they were on the train to Hogwarts. It would probably look quite odd to walk through the station wearing robes instead of regular clothes, they thought. After the Harry and Rose being dressed and ensured everything was packed, they paced the room for a bit, gazed out the window, then carried their trunk down the stares. It was quite large and heavy, and they curiously wondered if they could find something less cumbersome in Diagon Alley. After placing the trunk out of the way at the bottom of the stares, they sat down on it, back to back, waiting quietly for the Dursley's to wake, feeling a mounting excitement to be on the train to Hogwarts.

Two hours later, the trunk was loaded into the Dursley's car. Aunt Petunia talked Dudley into sitting next to the Harry half, but he refused to sit next to the Rose half. That was fine with the Harry and Rose being, as long as they got to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Dudley's bulk was such that the Harry half was squished between Dudley and the Rose half, though the Rose half moved as far right as possible to try and give him enough room. It was in vane, though, and they wondered just how much larger Dudley was going to get.

At around ten thirty, they'd reached King's Cross. Uncle Vernon placed the trunk on a cart and wheeled it into the station for them. The Harry and Rose being followed him and thought it was rather nice of him to perform such a service, then he stopped dead as he faced the platforms with a nasty grin.

"Well, there you are. Platform nine, platform ten. And yet, yours isn't built yet, is it?" Uncle Vernon asked nastily.

So that had been his motive, the Harry and Rose being thought. He was going to simply leave them, assuming their platform hadn't yet been built. Boy, would he be wrong, they thought, grinning a little.

"It is." The Harry and Rose being said. "Thank you, Uncle Vernon. See you in the summer." Widening their grin, the Harry and Rose being grabbed the cart and ran straight at the barrier. The Rose half turned around and gave Uncle Vernon a wave just before they ran straight through the barrier.

Professor McGonagall had been correct. It wasn't solid at all. They arrived on the other side of the barrier safely, standing on a platform where a scarlet steam engine waited. An overhead sign read, Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. The Rose half saw an archway behind them and they grinned again, moving toward the back of the train. The Harry and Rose being hauled their trunk into the train and up to the luggage compartment. It took them a minute even with the Rose half's strength. Once finished, they wiped sweat from their foreheads and sat down, breathing hard, their heart pounding.

They felt too excited to do anything but look around, so that's what they did, spotting many people with their families, pets, and trunks. Just before eleven o'clock, a family of redheads came through the barrier, though it seemed that they were cutting it rather close for some reason. The Harry and Rose being saw them board, then felt the train beginning to move. They turned from the window after watching a young girl crying and waving, trying and failing to keep up with the train, which rounded a corner and put her out of sight. The door to the compartment opened moments later, revealing one of the redheads.

"Can I sit here?" He asked. "Everywhere else is full."

"Sure." The Harry and Rose being said graciously.

"Wow, you remind me of my brothers Fred and George. You twins?" The boy asked.

"No, we're one being." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"What?" He asked, then chuckled. "Wow, good one! You'll have to pull that joke on my brother's!"

"It's not a joke." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Right." The boy said, but it was clear he didn't believe them. They shrugged.

"I'm Rose Potter." The Rose half said, both feeling resigned to a life where no one would believe them.

"I'm Harry Potter." The Harry half added.

The boy stared at the Harry half, more specifically, at his forehead where his lightning bolt shaped scar was.

"Wow!" He said in awe. "I thought I'd never meet the Harry Potter, you're really the Harry Potter!"

"Yes, I'm Harry Potter." The Harry half said.

"Ah, there you are, Ron." A voice said as the door opened again, revealing two identical redheaded twins. "Found yourself a fellow first year?"

"It's the Harry Potter!" Ron said in sheer awe, pointing at the Harry half.

"Wow!" The twins said together, both staring at him also. "We're going to have to tell Ginny about this."

"I really would rather not be goggled at, stared at, or shown anything but any other person that isn't famous." The Harry half responded calmly, though the Harry and Rose being felt angry at this nonsense.

"Oh. Right, then." One of the twins said. "Well, we'll be off, then. Bye, Ron, Harry, and we didn't get your name, but you look quite lovely."

"Rose Potter." The Rose half said.

"Really?" Another of the twins asked. "We didn't know Harry had a sister."

"He doesn't." The Rose half responded.

"Then how are you related?" One of the twins asked.

"The single soul bond." The Harry and Rose being stated.

"Oh, wow, good one! You're having us on, nice! Well, I'm Fred, this is George, and that's our younger brother Ron. Later!" Fred said, then he and George left the compartment, closing the door behind them.

"Do you really have the... The... You know..." Ron asked after a few moments of silence, directing his question at the Harry half.

Resigned, the Harry and Rose being made their decision. The Harry half reached up and brushed his bangs away from his scar.

"Oh, wow!" Ron said in awe, staring. "So that's where You-Know-Who..."

"Yes." The Harry half said. "I don't remember anything, though."

"Nothing?" Ron asked eagerly.

"I remember some green light, laughter, nothing really after that." The Harry half said.

"Wow." Ron said.

"I don't think so." The Harry half replied. "It's not cool or anything, it's sad. I don't even know my parents and I really wish I did."

"Well..." Ron looked embarrassed. "I don't really blame you, I guess."

"I'm glad about that." The Harry half responded, the Harry and Rose being smiling.

"So... What about you, Rose? What was it like growing up with Harry Potter?" Ron asked, his eyes wide and his face eager.

"You didn't believe me when I said that I and the Harry half are one being." The Rose half responded. "We aren't two beings, I am one."

"That's weird." Ron said. "How does that work, anyway?"

"I can't explain it too well." The Harry and Rose being responded. "The Harry half feels and experiences everything the Rose half experiences, along with what he experiences. The same is true of the Rose half, feeling and experiencing everything the Harry half does along with her. I think with one mind and act with two bodies, but each body has its own mind, though I think and feel as one even though I have two bodies. It's deeper than that, words are shallow to describe who we are."

"Wow, that's really crazy." Ron said, though looked confused. "I don't really understand it."

"That's the best I can tell you." The Harry and Rose being said.

"That's really freaky how you two talk at the same time." Ron responded, then jumped. "Ouch, Scabbers!"

He pulled what looked to be a fat rat from his pocket, who was squeaking and squirming around a little. The Rose half reached out and grabbed him from Ron, who sighed.

"Thanks." He said.

"How long have you had him?" The Harry and Rose being asked as Scabbers went still, she handing him back to Ron, but not before noticing he had a missing toe on one of his paws.

"I got him from Percy, it's been about ten years." Ron responded.

"Been through the ringer, I take it?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Yeah." Ron replied.

"Interesting." The Harry and Rose being said as Scabbers seemed content to sleep. "So, are all of your family wizards, Ron?"

Changing the topic seemed to work to distract Ron from the oddities of the Harry and Rose being, and he seemed more comfortable when they acted as the individuals they weren't. They felt resignation again and decided to act as individuals around people, rather than try and tell them about their unique bond.

When the Harry half told Ron about his life with the Dursley's, Ron seemed to perk up from his gloomy mood of telling them about his six other siblings and how he knew he'd never be as good as them. Ron had something they never had, though, a proper family. The Harry and Rose being would take that over any amount of money.

"Until Professor McGonagall took me to get my school things, I didn't know anything about my parents, the Wizarding world or Voldemort." The Harry half finished what he'd been telling Ron.

Ron gasped.

"What?" The Rose half asked.

"You said the name! I thought you of all people wouldn't!" Ron responded.

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, I just didn't know you weren't supposed to say it in casual conversation or at all, really. I mean, Professor McGonagall mentioned something like that, but it seems a little far fetched." The Harry half explained. "You see? I've got loads to learn, I'll probably be no good at anything. I bet I'll make a fool of myself in front of the entire school."

"Na, there's loads of people from Muggle families, they learn things just fine." Ron said reassuringly. "You'll do just fine."

The Harry and Rose being smiled at him.

"Thanks for that." The Harry half said.

"Yeah, no problem." Ron replied. He was quiet for a few moments as he took them in, then said, "You know, being friends with you, Harry, and Rose, if you'll let me... Well, it's not really a big deal after all."

The Harry and Rose being beamed and the Rose half stood and hugged Ron tight. He blushed, embarrassed.

"Thank you, Ron, you don't know how much this means to me!" The Harry and Rose being said as the Rose half sat back down next to the Harry half, delighted at Ron's willingness to be their friend. "Now, if you could accept our single soul bond, that would be nice."

"It's really, really weird." Ron said as he stared at both of them intently, then smiled a little. "But I think I could get used to it." The Harry and Rose being grinned widely again, delighted.

At the Dursley's, they didn't make friends, only attracted the ire of bullies. Hogwarts seemed full of things they'd never before experienced, the Harry and Rose being thought with delight. It would take time, but perhaps more would accept them naturally.

"Have you read any of the course books yet?" The Harry and Rose being asked, deciding on a new subject to talk about with Ron.

"A little, not much, though." Ron confessed. "They're kind of boring."

"I did." The Harry and Rose being said. "I like potions quite a bit. It reminds me a little of cooking."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Yeah." The Harry and Rose being responded. "It seems a lot more complicated, though, putting the proper ingredients in at the right times, after a certain number of stirs, some going in after the potion's taken off the fire. The reactions some of them have if not done properly is really fascinating, too. It must be the magical properties or something."

"It doesn't really fascinate me much." Ron said. "Besides, I've heard potions is taught by a really mean teacher called Professor Snape."

"I'm eager to find out." The Harry and Rose being said, smiling when they noticed Ron seemed to be relaxing around them and their talking.

Silence passed for a while and the three of them simply observed the scenery as it passed. At around half past twelve, a clattering was heard outside the door and a smiling witch opened it.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" She asked invitingly.

"Sure." The Harry and Rose being responded as they stood and moved toward her. "We'll take some of everything."

Ron stared at them as the Harry and Rose being purchased some of everything with their money, then returned to the compartment and dumped it on the seat. Ron muttered something about having sandwiches and showed them one, pulling it apart.

"She always forgets I don't like corned beef." Ron said, then added, "Guess you're hungry."

"Very." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I haven't had breakfast and I'm starving. Here, want a pasty? I'll swap you."

"You don't want this, it's all dry." Ron responded and the Harry and Rose being frowned.

"Most of my life I didn't get anything like what you're mother made you, I assume that's who did it. If I had, I'd be grateful for it. But if you don't want those, I'll take them and you can have some of these. Go on." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Well..." His face turned red from embarrassment and he hesitantly handed the sandwiches to the Rose half.

"Oh, thanks." The Harry and Rose being said as the Harry half shoved a hand full of pasty's into Ron's hands, then added, "Go on, Ron."

Ron hesitantly began eating and they grinned as the Rose half also began to eat. The sandwiches weren't all that bad, but as the Rose half ate and the Harry half didn't, Ron asked, "You going to eat, Harry?"

"Not while the Rose half is." The Harry half responded as the Rose half chewed. "Ever had candy and sandwiches at the same time? I'll taste both at the same time, like you eating both."

"Oh, didn't think about that." Ron said.

"That's okay." The Harry half said.

"Wow, you eat fast!" Ron commented to the Rose half, who had finished one of the sandwiches.

"Hey, I'm hungry!" The Harry half said.

"I get it, I do." Ron responded. "I eat pretty fast, too."

"Well, there you go, then." The Harry half said. "Wish we had some water, I'm thirsty. Be back, I'm going to see."

"Okay." Ron responded.

The Harry half exited the compartment and found the witch pushing the trolley. She hadn't gone far.

"Ms, do you have any water or something?" The Harry half asked hesitantly.

"I sure do." She responded. "Most just want the sweets, though."

"I'll take four of those." The Harry half said, spotting the water bottles at the bottom of the cart.

"Right, then." She said. "Twelve Knuts."

The Harry half handed over a Sickle and smiled.

"Thanks." He said. "And enjoy the tip."

"I will, young man." She responded, handing him the bottles which felt ice cold. With a grin, he hurried back into the compartment.

"Well, got them!" The Harry half said, sitting next to the Rose half and handing her one of the bottles, which she took and opened along with the Harry half. Both drank from their bottles at the same time, loving the cold, refreshing water.

"That's better." The Harry and Rose being said. "And refreshing, too."

"I didn't think you could act apart like that, saying you were one being and all." Ron said.

"Yep, we can." The Harry half said, the Rose half on her third sandwich, though was slowing down her eating. She stopped and the Harry half enjoyed some of the pasty's, then the Rose half took her turn to eat.

"Wow, cool." Ron said as he watched them. "I think I'm going to enjoy being your friend."

"I'll enjoy being yours, too." The Harry and Rose being responded with a smile.

It felt good to have a friend, and to share what they had. They'd never done anything like that before, unless it was sharing from one half to the other, which wasn't really sharing in their eyes, anyway. Minutes passed as the Rose half finished her sandwiches and the Harry half looked at a package of chocolate frogs.

"What are these?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Are they really frogs?"

"No." Ron said. "But check the card. I'm missing Agrippa."

"The card?" The Harry and Rose being asked in confusion.

"Oh, right. You wouldn't know, but the chocolate frogs have cards in them. They're for collecting famous witches and wizards. I've got about five-hundred of them myself." Ron explained. "I don't have Agrippa or Ptolemy and I've been looking for them."

The Harry half unwrapped his chocolate frog with the Rose half and the Harry and Rose being gazed at the picture. It was a man, who had a long, crooked nose, half-moon glasses, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Under the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"Who's Albus Dumbledore?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Read the back." Ron indicated. "Can I have a frog? Might get Agrippa."

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being said, the Harry half flipping over the card as the Rose half handed a handful to Ron. They then read together.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

When the Harry half flipped the card over, the Harry and Rose being's eyes widened in astonishment.

"He's gone!" The Harry and Rose being said in surprise.

"Well, you can't expect him to stay around all day, can you? He'll be back." Ron said as if it was perfectly normal. To him, it probably was. "I got Morgana again and I've got six of her. Want it? You can start collecting."

"Cool, thanks!" The Rose half said, swiping the card from him with a grin.

"You know, in the Muggle world, people stay put in pictures." The Harry and Rose being said. "And help yourself to whatever, I don't mind."

"Thanks." Ron responded. "And that's really it, they don't move? Weird." He sounded amazed by the information and the Harry and Rose being grinned.

"Seems you find my world as strange as I find yours, huh mate?" The Harry and Rose being asked in a good natured sort of voice.

"Yeah. My dad would be fascinated, though, I bet he'd have a lot of questions for you." Ron responded.

The Harry half noticed Dumbledore moving back into his picture, giving him a smile and a wave. At that, the Harry and Rose being stared, utterly fascinated. Ron enjoyed eating the frogs more than looking at the cards, but the harry and Rose being couldn't keep their eyes off them, enraptured by the moving pictures. Soon, they built up quite a collection of their own, though, but stopped eating the chocolate frogs in favor of opening a bag of something called Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You want to be careful with those." Ron warned. "When they say every flavor, they mean it. You get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavored one once. I wouldn't eat them at the same time, either, the color doesn't tell you anything."

The Harry and Rose being, who had each taken a bean of the same color, wisely didn't eat them at the same time. Instead, they watched Ron with interest as he bit into the corner of a green bean.

"See? Sprouts." He said, looking a little disgusted.

The Harry and Rose being ate the beans separately. While the color gave some indicator of the flavor, it wasn't full proof, probably to keep the factor of surprise up. They got many different flavors including toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and pepper. They found the candy fascinating, just as they'd found everything else in the wizarding world so far.

A knock on the door interrupted them and a round-faced boy came in, looking tearful and rather nervous.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad around at all?" He asked.

The Harry and Rose being and Ron shook their heads.

"I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" He wailed tearfully.

The Rose half stood and walked over to him, gently hugging him, the Harry and Rose being feeling a compassion for his situation.

"I'm sure he'll turn up." She said comfortingly, patting his back as he clung to her.

"Well, thanks." He said, still sounding miserable. The Rose half smiled at him comfortingly.

"If he turns up, we'll let you know, okay?" She said. "What's your name?"

"Neville, Neville Longbottom." He responded.

"I'm Rose Potter, this is Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley." She introduced. Neville's eyes grew wide as he stared at the Harry half over the Rose half's shoulder.

"Please don't stare." The Harry half said.

Neville looked down, blushing and the Rose half let him go, gently patting his shoulder.

"It's okay, Neville. Good luck." The Rose half said kindly.

"Thanks." Neville said, then left, closing the compartment door behind him as the Rose half sat back down.

"Don't know why he's so bothered." Ron said. "If I had a toad, I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers so I can't really talk, I suppose."

"Well, think about it." The Harry and Rose being said. "His toad's probably a pet he's attached to, like I'm sure you are to Scabbers. How would you feel if you lost him, or he was killed?"

"Yeah, didn't think about that." Ron responded. "Guess you've got a point." He looked down at Scabbers, who was still asleep on Ron's lap. "Well, you know he might have died and you wouldn't even know the difference with how he sleeps. I tried to learn a spell to turn him yellow to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. Want to see?"

"Sure." The Harry and Rose being said, eager to see more magic.

Ron opened his trunk and rummaged around inside for a moment before pulling out a battered looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white seemed to be glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hair's poking out a bit. Anyway..."

Ron rose his wand and the door to the compartment opened again, revealing Neville with a girl, who was already wearing her Hogwart's robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." She said in a bossy sort of voice. The Harry and Rose being noticed her bushy brown hair and large front teeth and found her rather unpleasant, though wondered why she acted that way.

"He was by here a bit ago." The Rose half responded pleasantly, but the girl wasn't listening. She was staring at the wand in Ron's hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She announced, though sounded rather pushy.

She sat down next to him and Ron looked a little nervous. He cleared his throat hesitantly, then spoke.

"Er... All right." He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow. "

Ron waved his wand and nothing happened. The Harry and Rose being hadn't recognized the spell, assuming it actually was one. It didn't seem anything like what they'd already seen.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" The girl asked. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells for practice. They've all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magical at all, it was such a surprise when I got my letter. I was so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've learned all our course books by heart, of course. I just hope it will be enough. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

She'd said all of this in a single breath and the Harry and Rose being stared at her in surprise and slight anger. She sounded rather tactless.

"Ron Weasley." He responded, looking as if he hadn't learned all the course books by heart. The Harry and Rose being hadn't, either, having been more focused on trying to understand the material.

"Harry and Rose Potter." The Harry and Rose being said. "I'm sure you can guess who's who."

"Are you really?" Hermione asked, staring at the Harry half. "I know all about you, of course. I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Great." The Harry and Rose being responded. "And they always forget about the Rose half."

"The Rose half?" Hermione sniffed disbelievingly. "What are you, twins? But you can't be twins, I researched a bit about the Potter's because I was curious, there's no Rose Potter so you must not be who you said you were, unless, of course, you're related to Harry in some other way but I don't know what that could possibly be."

"If you took a little time to listen, I could tell you." The Rose half stated gently. "I'm excited too, Hermione, but you're coming off a bit rude. I don't mean that offensively, that's just how I see it. I would be glad to be your friend, but I'd like some time to talk." The Rose half spoke warmly and smiled, holding out her hand. Hermione took it, looking a little flustered.

"Of course, what was I thinking? Well, I really am excited to be here heading to Hogwarts, I suppose. And I'd like to be your friend also. So what houses do you think you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best. I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad." Hermione said, having released the Rose half's hand.

"Well, we don't really know yet." The Harry half responded.

"Well I suppose we'll find out soon enough." Hermione said. "Nice to have met all of you. We'd better be off to look for Neville's toad. You might want to change, I expect we'll be there soon."

She then left, taking Neville with her.

"Whatever house she's in, I hope I'm not in it." Ron said, throwing his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell, should have known. George gave it to me, bet he knew it was fake."

"It wouldn't be too bad." The Harry and Rose being said. "I think she's just a little nervous, maybe insecure. What house are your brother's in?"

"Gryffindor." Ron responded, seeming to be gloomy again. "My parents were in it, too. Don't know what they'll say if I'm not, but I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad. I can't imagine being in Slytherin."

"I don't know why that'd be bad." The Harry and Rose being said.

"That was the same house You-Know-Who was in." Ron said, flopping back into his seat.

"Oh." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Well, just because Voldemort was in it doesn't mean all bad wizards are."

Ron gasped again at the name Voldemort, then after a moment said, "Well, there's been more bad than good I can tell you that."

"What do your older brother's do now that they're no longer in Hogwarts?" The Harry and Rose being asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts." Ron responded. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I suppose you wouldn't get that with the Muggle's. Someone tried to rob a high security vault, 713 I think it was."

"Really?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news." Ron responded. "They weren't caught. My dad says it must have been a powerful dark wizard to get around the Goblin's protections at Gringotts. They don't think anything was taken, that's what's odd. Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."

"Is that who runs Gringotts, Goblins?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Yeah." Ron responded. "Guess you wouldn't know that, either."

"There's a lot I don't know." The Harry and Rose being stated, curiously wondering about what Ron had told him.

"You a fan of any Quidditch teams?" Ron asked.

"Don't know any, so no." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"You just wait, it's the best." Ron said eagerly, then began explaining Quidditch and many of the famous players, talked about the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just starting to explain some of the finer points of the game when the compartment door opened again.

Three boys entered the compartment and one of them looked pale and had the baring of someone who was rather spoiled. He stared around, then spoke.

"Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment." He said.

"It's true." The Harry half said, the Harry and Rose being feeling resigned once again to the fame the Harry half would receive. "I'm Harry Potter."

The Harry and Rose being saw the two boys on either side of the pale one. They looked quite mean and like body guards. This boy, whoever he was, was reminding the Harry and Rose being more and more of Dudley.

"This is Crabbe and this is Goyle." The boy said carelessly, noticing where the Harry and Rose being were looking. "And who are you?" He directed his gaze at the Rose half.

"Rose Potter." She stated.

"Well I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." The pale boy said.

Ron gave a slight cough that sounded as if he was hiding a snicker. Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" He asked. "No need to ask who you are. My dad told me all the Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He turned back to Harry and Rose. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter's. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Malfoy held out his hand and the Rose half stood, stepping toward him. Ron watched in horror and growing anger as she took his hand... And squeezed quite hard.

"That's why you should be avoided." She stated, gripping tightly to his hand as his eyes filled with tears of pain and his face turned red with anger. "Nothing Personal, Malfoy, but it's just that you're attitude of a spoiled brat really gets on my nerves." She flung his hand to his side and he stumbled back, glaring angrily.

"You better be really careful, Potter." He stated furiously. "You'll go the same way as your parents unless you're a bit politer and don't hang around riffraff like the Weasley's."

"Maybe you want to say that again, Malfoy." The Rose half stated as she gripped the front of Malfoy's shirt tightly in her hands.

"Oh, going to fight us, are you?" He asked, though sounded nervous. He made an attempt at a sneer, though simply looked nervous.

"No, not at all." The Rose half said with a cold calm. "I'm just going to shove you out unless you are a bit nicer."

The Rose half let go of Malfoy, who seemed to regain his confidence as she sat back down.

"Well, we don't really feel like leaving, do we, boys?" Malfoy asked, his face regaining its color. "We've eaten all our candy but you still seem to have some."

Goyle reached toward the chocolate frogs sitting next to Ron, who leapt forward as the Harry and Rose being jumped angrily to their feet. Before anyone could do anything, Goyle let out a yell. Scabbers was hanging off his finger by his sharp teeth. Crabbe and Malfoy backed up as Goyle wildly swung Scabbers around and around until he flew off and hit the window. The three of them quickly left afterward, then the Harry and Rose being and Ron heard footsteps. Hermione Granger had returned.

"What has been going on?" She asked, staring at the candy on the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by the tail.

"A bully named Draco Malfoy came bye to try and intimidate us." The Harry and Rose being stated. "Scabbers, Ron's rat, decided to help us out a bit. We weren't fighting."

The Harry and Rose being failed to mention that they would have gladly done so, and with the Rose half's speed and strength, might have won, too. Scabbers intervention had both prevented that, and given them some entertainment as well.

"I don't believe it he's gone back to sleep." Ron muttered after looking at Scabbers. He then added darkly, "I've heard of Malfoy's family. They claimed they were bewitched to work for You-Know-Who, dad doesn't believe it though. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to be on the dark side." He then turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better put on your robes." She replied after a moment, looking disapprovingly at them. "I've just been up to talk to the conductor and he says we're nearly there."

"Well, you mind leaving while we change?" Ron asked.

"All right. I only came in here because people are acting very childishly, running up and down the corridors." Hermione said in a disapproving and judging voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" She pointed at Ron's face.

Ron glared at her as she left and the Harry and Rose being looked out the window. It was getting dark now. Mountains and forests were under a deep purple sky. From the sound and feel of the train, it did seem to be slowing down.

Ron took off his jacket as the Harry and Rose being slipped their robes on over their clothes. Ron's seemed to be a bit short for him, his sneakers seen under them. A voice then echoed through the train, announcing, "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

The Harry and Rose being felt a combination of nervousness and excitement. Ron looked rather pale. They scooped up the last of the sweets and put them in the pockets of their robes, then joined the crowd in the corridor.

The train slowed, then finally came to a stop. People exited on to a small platform and the Harry and Rose being shivered in the cold, the Harry half more than the Rose half. In response, the Rose half put an arm around him and pulled him closer to her much warmer body. A lamp could be seen over the heads of the students, then they heard a voice speak.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

The Harry and Rose being stared at what looked to be an eleven foot tall man, his large face beaming, his black eyes glinting with warmth and emotion. He looked quite large and intimidating, and one of his hands which held the lamp, looked as big as a trash can lid. His black hair and beard looked rather wild and they vaguely wondered who he was. As the Harry and Rose being made their way toward him along with the rest of the students, they wondered what other surprises would be in store, gazing around and grinning a little.

"Wow!" The harry and Rose being said in amazement.

"Come on, any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Any more firs' years? Follow me!" The man said.

They slipped and stumbled as they followed the man down a very dark path. The Rose half glimpsed trees on either side of them and they heard Neville sniffing a couple times. Other than their footsteps, everyone was silent.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here." The man called over his shoulder.

The path opened on the edge of a large lake. The Harry and Rose being stared in wide-eyed amazement. Hogwarts was more beautiful than they could have imagined it to be, a large castle with many turrets and towers. The large man then pointed to a fleet of tiny boats and said, "No more'n four to a boat!"

The Harry and Rose being was followed into the boat by Ron and Neville, gazing around at everyone else who followed them.

"Everyone in?" The large man shouted, having a boat to himself. "Right then, forward!"

And with that, they were on their way toward Hogwarts across a lake as smooth as glass, the Harry and Rose being's nervousness overwhelmed by excitement. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 The Sorting and the Separation Challenge

The Harry and Rose being had been overwhelmed with the sights they'd seen, the entrance hall big enough to hold the Dursley's house, the ghosts which had joined them in a small room off the great hall, and the great hall itself with it's four house tables of differing colors with floating candles and a roof that looked like the sky outside. The Harry and Rose being stood in a line with the rest of the first years, still next to each other and watching as Professor McGonagall, who they'd met coming in, placed a very old and rather dirty pointed wizards hat on a four legged stool. They didn't know how they were going to be sorted, but they'd never imagined that a rip near the brim would open and that it would sing a song.

Everyone clapped after it finished and bowed to each of the four tables, then Professor McGonagall began calling names after she unrolled a scroll. Each person went to the stool when their name was called, placed the hat over their head, then proceeded to their house table once the hat shouted it out. The four houses were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Hermione ended up going to Gryffindor along with Neville, which was surprising. Malfoy went to Slytherin, a house the Harry and Rose being decided to avoid.

"Potter, Harry!" Professor McGonagall finally called.

Everyone began whispering as the Harry half made his way to the stool and sat down. Professor McGonagall placed the hat over his head and he saw the inside of the hat. The Rose half looked around at everyone staring and heard their whispering.

"No way, it's really the Harry Potter! Wow, who would have thought!"

"This is going to be awesome, I hope he's in Ravenclaw!"

"Hmm." A voice echoed in the Harry and Rose being's mind. "You're separated by distance but have one mind, quite odd, and not a bad mind it is, either. Plenty of courage, talent, and yes, a thirst to prove yourself. Hmm, difficult, difficult."

"Gryffindor." The Harry and Rose being thought fiercely. "I have a friend there."

"Loyalty, yes, though perhaps not entirely known to you yet." The hat thought.

"Gryffindor." The Harry and Rose being thought insistently.

"Yes, I do believe Slytherin would put you on the path of greatness. It's all here in your mind, are you so sure you don't want Slytherin?" The hat asked.

"Gryffindor." The Harry and Rose being thought.

"I see you have your mind set on..." The hat then shouted the last word. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The clapping and cheering was quite loud and several people were cheering as the Harry half took off the hat and stood, chanting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

The Harry half made his way to the Gryffindor table and Percy Weasley, a prefect, rose and vigorously shook his hand. He then sat back down and the Harry half did the same next to the ghost in the ruff, who patted his arm making the Harry and Rose being feel as if they'd plunged it in a bucket of ice water. The cheering went on for some time before settling, allowing Professor McGonagall to call out the next name.

"Potter, Rose!"

The Rose half moved forward, though wasn't nervous. She was grinning widely and moved quickly, waiting to join the Harry half. As she sat down, Professor McGonagall gave her a flash of a smile before placing the hat on her head. Several people were whispering and pointing, staring at her and not knowing how or even why there was another Potter.

"Back so soon?" The hat's voice said in the Harry and Rose being's mind again. "I've already sorted you."

"Yes, so say Gryffindor, not everyone knows of our single soul bond." The Harry and Rose being thought.

"Ah, yes. Yes, yes, I see it now. Very well, then... GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last word as usual.

The Rose half stood and gave the hat to Professor McGonagall, quickly joining the Harry half and sitting next to him. The cheering and clapping wasn't quite as loud, and through it, the Harry and Rose being heard puzzled people's voices, speculation on how there was another Potter when another Potter wasn't indicated in the records. Well, this would probably be in the news, the Harry and Rose being thought with resigned annoyance.

The Harry and Rose being could see the table where the teachers sat properly now. The large man sitting at the end nearest to them gave them a thumbs up and a cheery wave, though they weren't quite sure why. In the center chair sat Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster. The Harry and Rose being recognized him immediately from the chocolate frog card. He smiled brightly and cheerfully, blue eyes twinkling as he caught their gaze. The last four others were sorted including Ron Weasley, who went to Gryffindor, the Harry and Rose being cheering as he came to sit across from them. Once everyone was seated, Albus Dumbledore stood up and beamed, spreading his arms wide as if the sight of all of them was the happiest thing he'd ever seen.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down and the Harry and Rose being chuckled a little, clapping along with the rest.

"Really strange!" The Rose half said.

"Is he a bit mad?" The Harry half asked.

"Mad? He's a genius! But yes, he is a bit mad. Potatoes, Harry?" Percy Weasley asked.

The Harry and Rose being stared around at all the dishes that had just appeared on the table. They had never seen so many things they wanted to eat. Immediately, they began piling the exact same foods on their plates, working in unison with each other. People stared at them, then Hermione asked in her familiar bossy tone, "How are you a Potter, Rose? My research didn't indicate any other Potter's."

Many people crowded around or leaned forward, eager to hear the answer to the question that was on everyone's minds.

"No one believes me." The Harry and Rose being said. "I'm a single being in two bodies, the Rose half is the girl, the Harry half is the boy."

"I believe you, mate, though it's kind of hard to fully accept." Ron said with a grin. Everyone else stared on in confusion, some in disbelief.

"That is not an actual bond." Percy said, sounding as if he knew all there was to know, and couldn't possibly be wrong. "I see you've been learning from my brother's Fred and George."

"It is a real bond." The Harry and Rose being said. "I'm one being with two bodies."

Despite not wanting to tell everyone unless they would be accepted, it seemed the truth of their bond kept coming back to get them in the end. They were resigned to never being believed, along with explaining it over and over again. They wished that others, not just Ron, would also believe in the bond, even if he didn't completely accept it.

"Well if they don't believe you, at least I do." Ron said proudly.

"Thanks, Ron, I'm glad you believe me." The Harry and Rose being replied. "But it would be nice to be more accepted."

"The bond you speak of is legendary, not actually proven to have existed." The ghost in the ruff said calmly. "I've been here for over four-hundred years, and have seen no one as unique as yourselves. It's possible, I suppose, but difficult to accept."

The Harry and Rose being sighed, then said, "Yes, I'm sure it will be."

"I must say, watching you is quite fascinating." The ghost said, staring at them as they cut up their stakes in identical movements. They noticed everyone else staring at them as well and felt a burst of anger.

"I wish people wouldn't stare at me like that." The Harry and Rose being snapped. "Just because I'm different than the rest of you doesn't make me a circus show!"

They only shouted a little, didn't change their physical movements any. They felt hot from the anger but breathed deeply and calmed as everyone suddenly found their food very interesting to stare at. The Harry and Rose being sighed again, then began to eat.

"Well, I suppose now's as good a time as any to introduce myself, I don't believe I've done so yet. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." The ghost said.

"I know who you are!" Ron spoke up suddenly, sounding eager. "My brother's told me about you, you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would prefer that you call me..." The ghost began stiffly, sounding as if the conversation wasn't going how he wanted it. A sandy-haired boy named Seamus Finnigan interrupted.

"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

Sir Nicholas sighed in a grumpy sort of way, then said, "Like this."

The Harry and Rose being watched in fascination as he took hold of his left ear and pulled. His entire head swung off his neck and fell on to his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. They looked back down at their food and continued to eat after Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, hearing him tell the new Gryffindors he hoped they won the house cup. The conversation grew rather boring and not too interesting. People spoke among themselves, talking a little about their backgrounds as the desserts appeared once they'd eaten as much of the main course as they could. When Neville spoke of his family, the Harry and Rose being looked up with a frown.

"Nearly drowning, being dropped out a window? Sounds like my family." The Harry and Rose being said.

"What do you mean by that?" Dean Thomas asked.

"They weren't the kindest people you could meet." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Will you stop that?" Dean snapped.

"This is who I am, if you don't like it, move." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly, feeling furious again, though it only lasted a brief moment.

The Harry and Rose being gazed up at the High Table after finishing their desserts, feeling a little tired. As they calmed, their exhaustion rose. They swept their eyes across the table as Percy Weasley introduced the teachers to the first years. The large man, who's name was apparently Hagrid, was drinking deeply from his glass. Professor McGonagall was talking with Professor Dumbledore. A nervous and twitchy looking man who was the Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher named Professor Quirrell, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. Quite suddenly, the black-haired teacher looked past Professor Quirrell directly into the Harry half's eyes. A sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on the Harry half's forehead, but didn't hurt enough to cause them to flinch or cry out in any way. The teacher looked as if he didn't like the Harry half at all, quite a change from everyone else who seemed to want to stare at him and the Rose half, she for simply being a Potter, something that was apparently unknown to everyone.

"Who's the teacher next to Professor Quirrell?" The Harry and Rose being asked Percy.

"That's Professor Snape, forgot to tell you about him when I was introducing the other teachers." He responded. "He teaches Potions, but doesn't want to. Everyone knows he's after Professor Quirrell's job and knows a lot about the Dark Arts."

"I don't think he likes the Harry half much." The Harry and Rose being said.

Percy stared at the Harry and Rose being oddly, then the plates cleared yet again and Professor Dumbledore stood as the Harry and Rose being yawned, wanting to get some sleep and feeling pleasantly full. Everyone went silent as he began to speak.

"Ahem-just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."  
Dumbledore's eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins and the Harry and Rose being glanced briefly at them with the Rose half.  
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

The Harry and Rose being chuckled a little at that, then said, "Is he serious?"

"Must be." Percy said, frowning. "He usually gives a reason why we shouldn't go somewhere, it's odd. I thought he'd at least tell us prefects. The forest, of course, is full of dangerous beasts."

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried. The other teachers smiles became rather fixed at that and Dumbledore flicked his wand, as if trying to get a fly off the end. A long ribbon flew out of it and rose high above the table, twisting itself into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!" Dumbledore said.

The Harry and Rose being didn't join in the discord of singing. It sounded like a rather disorganized mess to them. They did listen attentively. Fred and George Weasley were the last two singing and Dumbledore conducted their lines with his wand. When they finished, he was one of those who clapped the loudest.

"Ah, music, a magic beyond anything we do here." He said, wiping his eyes. "And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Harry and Rose being began following the first years from the great hall, through several different corridors, up stare cases, and past portraits that whispered and pointed at them as they passed. It seemed there were secret passage ways of sorts that they were led through and they tried to remember the rout, though it was difficult. Eventually, just when the Harry and Rose being were wondering how far they had to go, they stopped in the middle of the hall with the other first years, seeming to have run into someone called Peeves, who was apparently something called a poltergeist. After Percy warned them about him, they continued to a portrait of a rather fat woman in a pink dress. She prompted for the password and Percy gave it. They remembered it, Caput Draconis. Once inside, Percy directed the boys and girls to separate dormitories and the Harry and Rose being separated, each going to their own dormitory. Quite tired, they lay down after closing their curtains, closing their eyes and attempting to sleep.

The Harry and Rose being tossed and turned, unable to sleep even though they were exhausted. They felt uncomfortable, as if something important was missing. They had never tried to sleep apart, and doing so didn't seem to be working. The sensation of something missing was uncomfortable and something they couldn't dismiss. They unconsciously reached for their other half throughout the night, and not finding them, sighed and struggled to be still.

They continued to try and sleep until the early hours of the morning, when the Harry and Rose being got up and moved to the common room after changing into their robes for the next day. They sat on one of the couches and leaned against one another, their eyes closing. Almost immediately, they drifted to sleep, feeling far more comfortable and natural.

Two hours later, Percy Weasley shook them awake and looked at them disapprovingly.

"You should be sleeping in your dormitory." He said with a frown.

"I tried." The Harry and Rose being said, standing and still feeling exhausted. "I couldn't sleep at all."

"Hmm." Percy said disbelievingly. "You have enough time to gather your things and get to breakfast."

"Thanks." The Harry and Rose being replied.

Percy still looked at them disapprovingly. The Rose half walked up to her dormitory as the Harry half clambered out the portrait hole. Entering, the Rose half glanced at the other girls changing, got a hair brush from the trunk which had been put at the foot of her bed rather than the Harry half, quickly brushed her hair, then packed their books in their backpack. As the Harry half walked to the great hall for breakfast, whispers and pointing people stared at him. People did the same to the Rose half as she followed behind the Harry half, though he had already reached the great hall.

The Rose half showed up a few minutes later and sat down next to the Harry half, who had dished food on to both their plates. They then began eating at the same moment as always, listening to conversations around as people came into the great hall. When owls began streaming into the great hall and circling, the Harry and Rose being jumped, startled and staring up in awe. Packages and letters were dropped in the laps of people who received mail, then the owls, after taking scraps of bacon from some, took off again.

"Owls is how mail's delivered?" The Harry and Rose being asked Ron, who had been eating for a few minutes already.

"Yeah." He responded. "You should get one."

"Hmm." The Harry and Rose being said.

Professor McGonagall and Percy were passing out the schedules to the students. The Harry and Rose being were glad that each half of them had the same exact schedule. Ron also had the same, so they would have a friend with them, it seemed.

Finding classes was quite difficult, especially since they didn't have a map. The Harry and Rose being observed intently and remembered everything they could as they wandered. Unfortunately, they got on the bad side of Argus Filch that morning attempting to go to their classes, and unknowingly, trying to force their way into the forbidden corridor on the third floor. He didn't believe them when they told him they were simply trying to find their classes, but luckily, they were rescued by Professor Quirrell before he could carry out any of his threats to lock them in the dungeons.

Mrs. Norris, Filches cat, seemed to be everywhere he was, and scout ahead for students out of bounds. If you saw her, you knew that Filch wouldn't be far behind if you stepped out of line. He would show up within a few seconds, and seemed to know the school better than anyone accept, perhaps, Fred and George. The Harry and Rose being vowed to learn some of the secret passage ways in their spare time, but didn't quite know when that would be yet.

There was far more to magic than waving your wand and saying some funny words, as the Harry and Rose being found out their first day. Herbology was held in the greenhouses, taught by a witch named Professor Sprout. The Harry and Rose being took notes as she explained to them what they would be learning about, and thought the magical plants might be rather interesting.

They had the rest of the day off afterward and the Harry and Rose being got in some reading, deciding to try and stay awake before attempting to sleep that night. Even through their exhaustion, they felt an eagerness to do the best they could at Hogwarts, deciding not to hold anything back as they'd did when going to school at the Dursley's.

Once again, the Harry and Rose being couldn't get comfortable and sleep, despite exhaustion weighing them down. The night dragged on as they struggled to sleep, even a little. It was futile, though. They remembered what had happened the previous day on the couch, having slept when they were touching. Maybe that was the solution, the Harry and Rose being thought, then stared at the Harry half's watch. It was only twelve in the morning.

The Harry and Rose being felt utterly despondent, quietly crying a little. It wasn't likely they would be allowed to sleep in a single bed, despite sharing everything else. The girls and boys were separated here, so the Harry and Rose being decided to work with that. They were determined to get used to this Separation.

Herbology was the first period of the day again. The Harry and Rose being felt as if they were moving through the day and simply existing, trudging along behind Ron. They'd told him of their difficulty and he thought they could go and speak with Professor McGonagall. The Harry and Rose being hadn't considered that, though their mind was clouded with exhaustion and lack of sleep. It wasn't surprising they would forget a few details.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was a joke. Professor Quirrell stammered his way through the lesson and the Harry and Rose being paid very little attention. It didn't seem to matter, though, as he didn't seem to notice. Instead of paying attention, the Harry and Rose being tried to doze without touching, but it was futile. It almost seemed as if there was some kind of block preventing them from getting any sleep at all.

Once again, the night dragged on, though they did talk with Professor McGonagall who promised to give them some time to speak with her the next evening. It seemed days passed instead of hours, hot tears rolling quietly down their faces. As the Harry and Rose being got up after hearing movement, Ron caught sight of the Harry half.

"You look exhausted, mate." He said, then looked closer. "You look like you've been crying."

"I have." The Harry half said as the Rose half brushed her hair slowly, curtains open.

"Rose, you okay?" Hermione Granger asked as she caught sight of her.

"I haven't slept for three days." The Rose half answered in a flat, robotic tone. "Can't."

"I'm sure you're just adjusting to a new place." Hermione said, looking into her eyes. "Give it time and I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I can't sleep without the Harry half." The Rose half stated, finishing brushing her hair and starting to change slowly into her robes for the day. "I'm going to talk with Professor McGonagall this evening."

"I don't know why you insist on telling us this impossible story about being separated into halves, but I never read anything about that." Hermione said in a tone of voice that seemed to state she was right and couldn't possibly be wrong. "That single soul bond is probably something you made up, perhaps for sympathy?"

"I didn't make it up." The Rose half snapped in sudden fury. "Leave me be!" She wasn't questioned after that.

Herbology passed in a blur yet again, but the day was very long. They hardly noticed History of Magic, which was taught by a ghost. When evening finally approached, the Harry and Rose being felt as if the day had been about three. They felt forced to stay awake despite the exhaustion that poured through them. After they knocked on Professor McGonagall's office, she bid them entry. They trudged inside, careful not to touch, then slumped in two seats in front of the desk, feeling sheer exhaustion.

"Have you been sleeping at all?" Professor McGonagall asked, gazing at the two of them with concern. Her stern look dropping quite a bit.

"No, but I've tried." The Harry and Rose being said. "We got sleep when we were touching Monday morning, we were in the couch in the common room."

"I see." Professor McGonagall responded, looking at them with disapproval. "And you believe the only manner in which you can sleep is when you're touching, I take it, perhaps by sleeping in the same bed."

"I'm not going to be groping me, Professor." The Harry and Rose being stated, not realizing just how strange that sounded. "I can't sleep, I've tried."

"I wish both of you to attempt this again." Professor McGonagall said. "I will place monitoring charms on both of you to determine exactly what it is you are doing. It isn't that I don't believe you, but a situation and bond such as yours is highly unusual. To have two people of the opposite gender in the same bed is frowned upon by myself and the other Hogwarts staff. I am certain that if it is the only solution, we can work something out."

"I'll tell you what we've been doing, laying in bed, trying to sleep, crying!" The Harry and Rose being shouted angrily.

"If that is so, we shall find out." Professor McGonagall responded in a frosty voice. "Will you allow me to cast the appropriate charms?"

"Yes, Professor." The Harry and Rose being stated with a scowl.

The charms were cast and they proceeded to the common room, eyes half closed as they slowly walked. After making their way to their dormitories, they flopped down in bed after dressing for the night. Again, the night dragged on and they felt as if weights were dragging them down. Anxiety and anger crept in and the Harry and Rose being thought about all the mean and cruel things they could say to Professor McGonagall even as they tossed in bed, struggling to sleep. They weren't disturbed and Professor McGonagall didn't come to check on them. When early morning came, the Harry and Rose being hauled themselves out of bed and dressed, their arms flopping and their faces sagging with the sheer exhaustion they felt.

The Harry and Rose being didn't even notice when Professor Flitwick, a tiny wizard, fell off his books after calling the Harry half's name. He responded flatly and they got to learn about what they would learn in charms, along with attempting the Lumos charm, which was supposed to light up the end of your wand.

When Transfiguration came around, which was taught by Professor McGonagall, she was quite stern in her lectures. The Harry and Rose being struggled to pay attention, sitting far enough away from each other so they wouldn't lean against one another and drift off to sleep. They felt as if the slightest touch would cause that.

The Harry and Rose being barely tried to perform their assigned work. As a result, the matches they were attempting to turn into needles did nothing. Professor McGonagall came up to the Harry half and said quietly, "I wish to speak with both of you after class concerning what we discussed yesterday."

"Discussed?" The Harry half asked, unable to remember exactly what that was.

"Your sleeping difficulty and the monitoring charms." Professor McGonagall responded.

"Oh." The Harry half stated. "K."

Professor McGonagall called the Harry and Rose being back after class, as they were simply following the other first years as they were used to doing by now. They remained and turned to face her. After closing the door, she said, "I went over what the monitoring charms collected. It seems you were truthful with me."

"I wouldn't lie." The Harry and Rose being stated flatly. "What now?"

"I spoke with Professor Dumbledore regarding your situation. He has set up a room for the two of you to access which is just off the common room." Professor McGonagall replied. "Your trunk has been brought there. I will warn you, however, that should you abuse this room in any way, your privilege to use it will be revoked. This is temporary for your first year only. If the solution is adequate, we shall discuss where to place you for your remaining years of schooling."

"Understood." The Harry and Rose being stated.

"Take the rest of the day to sleep if you wish." Professor McGonagall said. "I shall set an alarm to wake you for classes tomorrow, presuming you are still asleep."

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being replied.

Professor McGonagall showed them to the room, then told them the password was H. R. P. They could change it if they wanted, which the Harry and Rose being decided to do after they slept. Once they entered, they dressed in pajamas and went over to the queen sized bed. After climbing inside it and hugging, their eyes closed and they immediately drifted off to sleep. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 The Potions Master, the Surviving Black, and A Flight

The alarm woke the Harry and Rose being, who sat up, prompting it to deactivate. It was six in the morning, which gave them plenty of time to get ready. They grinned, no longer feeling tired or exhausted, Jumping out of bed, the Harry and Rose being gathered clothes together for the day and showered, noticing the Rose half was beginning to go through some expected physical developments. Aunt Petunia had reluctantly spoken to her about them, but had provided the Harry and Rose being with nothing. Perhaps an owl order was warranted, the Harry and Rose being thought. Dismissing the matter for the moment, they finished their shower and dressed for the day, then gripped hands and exited the room.

"Password H. R. P. Change." The Harry and Rose being said to the door, then after a moment added, "Hearts one."

They said the password again after a few seconds and the door unlocked for them. Grinning, they locked the door and made their way to the great hall for breakfast. As Ron came in, he spotted them and hurried over.

"Where were you, mate?" He asked.

"Getting some sleep." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Professor McGonagall gave us a room by the Gryffindor common room. Thanks for telling me to talk to her."

"Well, I just thought it would help, it's nothing." Ron muttered.

"Well, it did help." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Great." Ron said as he looked down at his schedule for the day. "Looks like it's double potions today."

"With Professor Snape." The Harry and Rose being said. "Well, just because he didn't like me, or appeared to not like me during the arrival feast, doesn't mean he'll transfer that in class, does it?"

"Well, they say he favors the Slytherin's, guess we'll find out if it's true." Ron responded as the mail came. To the Harry and Rose being's surprise, an owl dropped off a note to them. Curious, they read it.

Dear Harry and Rose,  
I know you got Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I live in a shack on the grounds and want to introduce myself and hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with owl that delivered this to you.  
Hagrid

"Hmm." The Harry and Rose being said.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"Hagrid wants to get to know me." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Can I borrow your quill?"

"Sure." Ron offered it to them.

The Rose half took it and wrote a short response, letting him know they'd show up before sending it off with the owl. The Harry and Rose being didn't quite know what it would be like to speak with Hagrid, having never actually done so before. After sending the note off, they finished their breakfast and proceeded, with the other first years, to the potions class.

As they walked, they gazed around in wonder. Now that they were fully awake and not exhausted, they were able to enjoy the grand Hogwarts far more than before. Moving portraits lined some of the walls, suits of armor were in some of the coridors, and passage ways were hidden where you might never think to look, such as seeming to be a part of the wall with only a small mark to indicate where they were, or even looking like class room doors until you opened them.

Potions class was held in the dungeons, and within the class room, a number of pickled animals were floating in glass jars. It was colder than the castle, though that wasn't a surprise since it was underground. Professor Snape took roll call to begin his class, his voice soft, but a presents that kept everyone silent. When he Reached the names of Harry and Rose, he paused.

"Ah, yes. Harry Potter, our new celebrity. And Rose Potter, the unknown Potter."

Draco Malfoy and his friends snickered behind their hands. After finishing calling out the names, he spoke, his black eyes containing no warmth, only a cold emptiness.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion- making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death-if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Dunderheads sounded like an insult, the Harry and Rose being thought, glancing at Ron who looked at them in turn. Hermione Granger was sitting on the edge of her seat, eager to answer a question and prove she was intelligent, perhaps. So far, this class was turning out to be disappointing with a teacher that was rather unkind.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly, looking at the Harry half. "What would I get if I added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?"

The Harry and Rose being had spent hours studying the potions book, trying to imagine what it would be like to begin this art of magic. Cooking was something they enjoyed a great deal, so they wanted to take that to Potions as well. That was easy. Hermione's hand had shot into the air, but the Harry and Rose being answered anyway.

"The Draught of Living Death, sir." The Harry half responded promptly.

Hermione put her hand down, looking disappointed. The Harry and Rose being, on the other hand, felt better about the class. Perhaps they would learn something useful, though they still thought Professor Snape's aditude to be questionable at best.

"Where would you look, Potter, if I told you to find me a Bezoar?" Professor Snape asked.

"I don't know, sir." The Harry half responded after a moment's thought, Hermione once again with her hand in the air. Though the Harry and Rose being had read their potions book, not all the answers were in it, it seemed.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Professor Snape asked vindictively. The Harry half continued looking into Professor Snape's cold, black eyes, which were full of hate and a vindictive sort of malice. He continued to ignore Hermione, and Draco Malfoy was shaking with silent laughter along with his friends on the Slytherin side of the room.

"What is the difference, Potter, between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" Professor Snape asked, his upper lip curling into an unpleasant sneer.

"I don't know, sir." The Harry half responded, the Rose half watching Hermione, who's hand was stretched as high as it would go. "Hermione might know, though."

"Put your hand down, silly girl." Professor Snape snapped and the Harry and Rose being got ready to write, just in case. It was a good thing they did, too, as Professor Snape finally began giving them some useful information.

"Asphodel and Wormwood do, in fact, make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A Bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for Monkshood and Wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of Aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" Professor Snape stated, glaring at the Harry and Rose being, who were writing.

As everyone got quills and parchment but the Harry and Rose being, Professor Snape stated, "A point from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter."

Professor Snape put everyone into pairs. Their assignment for the day was to mix up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept through the class room in his long black cloak, watching everyone preparing and mixing their ingredients. He criticized everyone but Malfoy, it seemed, who did everything perfectly according to the professor. As he told everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs, the class was interrupted by a clouds of acid, green smoke, and a hissing that filled the class room. The Harry and Rose being jumped on their stools as they watched the cauldron Neville and Seamus had been using melt into a twisted blob. The potion within, which seemed to be nothing more than a rather acidic substance, burned holes in people's shoes as it spread across the stone floor. Neville, who had been drenched in the potion, moaned in pain as boils popped up all over his skin.

"Idiot boy!" Professor Snape said furiously, clearing the potion with a wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville only whimpered in response, probably in too much pain to speak.

"Take him to the hospital wing." He instructed Seamus, then turned to glare furiously at the Harry half, who had been working with Ron. "Why didn't you tell him not to add the quills, Potter? Thought it would make you look good if he got it wrong, perhaps? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

The Harry and Rose being said nothing, only continued working with the partners each half had been paired with. They wished they'd been paired together, but that was unlikely to happen with Professor Snape, the bully Professor, teaching. They found they didn't much like him and hoped he would insult them on one of their bad days, just so they could get their revenge in full. At the thought, they mentally grinned a little.

They climbed from the dungeon an hour later, the Harry and Rose being looking rather glum. Two points had been taken from Gryffindor for something they hadn't even done wrong. It seemed that Professor Snape simply didn't like the Harry half, though it went further than that. It seemed he really hated all Gryffindor's, though hated the Harry half in particular for some reason.

"Cheer up." Ron said to the Harry and Rose being. "Snape's always taking points from Gryffindor because of Fred and George. Can I come meet Hagrid with you?"

"Sure." The Harry and Rose being responded.

About five minutes before three, they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house that was positioned at the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. When the Harry half knocked, they heard several booming barks and their heart began to race. The encounters they'd had with Ripper, Aunt Marge's beloved pet dog, didn't make them comfortable with that sound.

"Back, fang, back!" Hagrid's booming voice called from beyond the closed door before he opened it a bit, his large face appearing in it. "Hang on, back, fang."

The Harry and Rose being were more comforted that Hagrid was keeping a handle on Fang. He let them in as he struggled to keep Fang from leaping on them, who turned out to be a giant black boarhound. Once inside, he said, "Make yerselves at home." He then released Fang, who bounded at Ron. The Harry and Rose being tensed in fear, but relaxed when it turned out Fang only wanted to get friendly, licking his ears.

"Interesting place." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Professor Dumbledore got it for me. Great man, Dumbledore." Hagrid said with a beaming smile. "And yer Harry, I suppose."

"I'm the Harry half." He said. "This is the Rose half. We have the single soul bond."

"Knew both of yeh as kids, did everythin' together." Hagrid said as he poured tea into some mugs and put rock cakes on the table. "Both of yeh were always fairly happy."

"Well that's good to know. This is Ron, Hagrid. He's the first who is trying his best to fully accept me as I am." The Harry and Rose being said with a smile, the Rose half slinging an arm around his shoulders. Ron's face turned red and he shrugged her off.

"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid glanced at his freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."

"They sound like they get into trouble a lot." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Tha's right, sure do." Hagrid said.

"What do you do here, Hagrid?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Tha's right, yeh don' know." Hagrid said with a grin. "I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts."

"That explains the crossbow and galoshes." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"What are galoshes anyway?" Ron asked as Fang moved to the Harry half and made to put his head in his lap. The Harry half gently pushed him back and Fang let out a little whine.

"No, don't do that." The Rose half said with a gentle firmness in her voice, then added, "Galoshes go over your shoes, they're rubber waterproof things that stop your feet from getting wet."

"Oh." Ron responded. "That's kinda cool."

"So, how abou' yer first week?" Hagrid asked. "Likin' it here, are yeh?"

"Oh, yes!" The Harry and Rose being said with a wide grin. "Once we got our sleeping problem solved, that is."

"Sleepin' problem?" Hagrid asked with concern.

They went on to explain what had happened to them their first week. Ron filled in where they'd been out of it, and when it came time for them to tell him about how Professor McGonagall had lent them a room they could use to sleep in, Hagrid said, "Tha's good yea got it solved, wouldn'ta been good to have yea not sleepin'."

"No, I was starting to snap at people." The Harry and Rose being said.

The Harry and Rose being told Hagrid about the lesson with Professor Snape and he told them not to worry about it, though Hagrid didn't quite meet their eyes when he asked why he should hate them. The conversation went on and the Harry and Rose being was delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch an old git. Eventually, the conversation moved to Charlie, one of Ron's brothers. As Ron told Hagrid all about the work Charlie did with dragons, the Rose half caught sight of a piece of paper on the table under the tea kettle. Curious, they carefully moved it and pulled the piece of paper out, starting to read.

ANOTHER POTTER DISCOVERED

It has been commonly known to witches and wizards for some time that Harry Potter, who survived the killing curse and vanquished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, was going to attend Hogwarts on 1 September this year. However, what was less commonly known was the other Potter.

Rose Potter is not Harry Potter's sister as one may think. In fact, reports would seem to indicate that she shares the single soul bond, a legendary bond which would make the two Potter's one person rather than two.

"They always move and talk at the same time, it's really freaky!" A fourth year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry indicated.

Since the reports seem to be nothing but speculation on the parts of the students, it is believed that the Potter's share the more commonly known soul bond instead. After all, the single soul bond is not recorded in any verifiable historical books, simply a tail told to children.

"Unbelievable!" The Harry and Rose being said angrily, slapping the paper down on the table before they read the rest. "Who do they think they are to get into our personal, private life?"

"Yeh may want ter calm down there, Harry and Rose. Yer famous, it's bound ter be in the news." Hagrid said.

"I'm going for a walk, you mind?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"No, yeh go ahead." Hagrid said pleasantly.

"Uh, Harry and Rose?" Ron asked. They spun to face them and his hand shook a little as he held out the paper.

"I don't want that." The Harry and Rose being responded coldly.

"You should read the rest." He said. "It concerns Rose... The Rose half, I mean. And her family." His voice was nervous, but he didn't back down, a true Gryffindor. The Rose half snatched the paper and the Harry and Rose being walked from the house toward the lake, feeling furious. After they sat, the Rose half gazed down at the paper and skimmed it until reaching the unfamiliar part of the article.

Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Rose Marie Potter was not originally a Potter, but is in fact a Black. As far as magical rights are concerned, however, Rose Marie Black is married to Harry Potter, and thus, shares his last name.

The family records of Rose Marie indicate that her father is Sirius Black, who is currently incarcerated in Azkaban for the brutal murder of twelve Muggles as well as the murder of Peter Pettigrew, for which only a finger was found for evidence. Sirius Black was not only godfather to Harry Potter, but was also the Potter's secret keeper when they were hiding. For reasons unknown to us, Sirius Black betrayed the Potter's, leading He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to them and to the murder of the Potter's, and subsequent vanquishing of You-Know-Who. One wonders what Rose Marie must think of her father, and if she's even aware of her own family line. After all, it was the cohorts of Sirius Black who murdered her mother, Sarah Black, in Diagon Alley on November 12, 1981.

For more information on Sirius Black, see page six. For information on Peter Pettigrew, see page seven.

The Harry and Rose being felt raw rage welling in them. Sirius Black, the father of the Rose half, had killed, murdered, had been allied with Voldemort! It was his fault they'd been with the Dursley's! It was his fault they didn't have a mother! It was all his fault!

The Harry and Rose being let out a furious shriek and the paper burst into flames as the Rose half flung it away from her as hard as she could. It passed over part of the lake and landed harmlessly on some rocks. Hot tears poured down their faces and they clutched each other, sobbing hard and feeling emotions pouring through them. The Harry and Rose being didn't know how long they'd been outside crying, but felt hands rest on their shoulders and looked up at Ron through tear-filled eyes, their faces filled with emotion.

"Come on, mate. We need to get going for dinner." He said carefully.

The Harry and Rose being stood and controlled their emotions, feeling a hot rage toward Sirius Black, the trader. They thought deeply as they went to the great hall for dinner, wiping their eyes free of the tears before entering Hogwarts again. Nothing could be done about Black. It was best to let it go, though it wouldn't be easy.

September 12, 1991.

The Harry and Rose being were getting plenty of sleep because of Professor McGonagall's generosity. Even though the news of Sirius Black was weighing heavy on their mind, they still managed to sleep well, though dreamt of a faceless man who, with an eager tremor in his voice, told Lord Voldemort the location of the Potter's. A high, cold laugh proceeded it and they woke, feeling a fury toward Black and a powerful desire to kill him for what he'd done.

On Monday morning, the Harry and Rose being spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room. They often visited it and did their homework there, though wondered how such a thing would be handled by the other teachers, given that their writing was precisely the same, as was the wording on their work. Curious about the notice, they read it and smiled. The Harry and Rose being had been looking forward to flying, but they soon frowned when they realized the class would be held with Slytherin.

Surprisingly, Professor Sprout took their homework without comment, scanning it pensively before sending them to join their classmates. Professor Quirrell also said nothing, though the Harry and Rose being didn't consider him much of a teacher anyway. Professor McGonagall simply smiled at the two of them and put them to work with the rest. Throughout the days leading up to the flying lesson, Malfoy did quite a bit of bragging about flying, how good he was, as well as all the adventures he'd been on. The Harry and Rose being didn't give it much stock, but was nervous about making a fool of them self on the broom in front of Malfoy. No doubt, he would take that opportunity to bully them and laugh at their misfortune.

Quidditch was spoken of quite a bit by the wizarding families. The first years were excited to begin their flying lessons and spoke of them constantly. Ron longed to join the Quidditch team one day, though didn't know when that would be. The Harry and Rose being didn't think they'd be joining the team any time soon, so decided it best not to get their hopes up. If they always kept their expectations and hopes low, they wouldn't be disappointed. It was a lesson they'd learned at the Dursley's, one that was both sad, but true.

The only two who didn't seem excited about learning to fly were Neville and Hermione, Neville who had never been allowed near a broom, and Hermione who hadn't grown up around the magical ones. Neville was already rather clumsy on the ground, and keeping a broom from him would prevent him from having any accidents in the air, so the Harry and Rose being understood Neville's nervousness. Hermione didn't know what to expect, and from the manner in which she spoke from her books, trying to pass on all the flying tips she could, was perhaps afraid of heights. Neville hung on to every word Hermione said, though, trying to get as much knowledge as he could. Flying couldn't be learned from books, though, it had to actually be done.

Hermione's lecture on flying was interrupted by the arrival of the mail Thursday morning, something everyone was glad for. The Harry and Rose being had only received the single note from Hagrid, which Malfoy had been quick to note. His owl was always bringing him packages of sweets, which he gloatingly opened at the Slytherin table.

A barn owl brought Neville a package, which he excitedly showed to the Gryffindor's. It appeared to be a small glass ball, large enough to be held in the fist and filled with white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall! My gran knows I forget things, so it tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. You hold it like this and if it turns red... Oh..." Neville's face fell, as the smoke did indeed turn red.

Draco Malfoy, who was passing bye, snatched the Remembrall out of Neville's hand with a grin. The Harry and Rose being along with Ron jumped to their feet, but before they could do anything, Professor McGonagall swept toward them, able to spot trouble faster than many of the other teachers.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Neville responded.

Malfoy scowled and dropped it on the table, then stated, "Just looking." He then left with Crabbe and Goyle.

After Professor McGonagall left, the Harry and Rose being sat back down with Ron, saying, "It's too bad she had to come."

"Yeah, I'd have liked to take a swing at him." Ron responded in a disappointed voice.

"You shouldn't be fighting, you know." Hermione said disapprovingly.

"And you shouldn't be sticking your nose in our business." Ron stated in reply.

"Please, don't, Hermione." The Harry and Rose being said when it seemed she was about to speak again. "I know you're trying to be helpful, but you come off a bit abrasive. I understand you don't mean it that way."

Hermione looked down, blushing.

At three thirty in the afternoon, the first year Gryffindors made their way down to a smooth, flat field that was opposite the forbidden forest. Twenty broomsticks lay on the ground and the Slytherin's were standing in wait. Fred and George had complained about the school brooms, pointing out ways in which they malfunctioned. Looking at them, the Harry and Rose being weren't surprised as they didn't seem to be in the best condition.

The teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had yellow eyes like a hawk and short gray hair. When she spoke, she seemed quite strict.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Stand by a broomstick, come on, hurry up." She barked.

Everyone scrambled to do so and the Harry and Rose being glanced down at their brooms. They were old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. It didn't seem like a very good thing to be riding.

"Stick your right hand over the broom and say up!" Madam Hooch called from the front.

"Up!" The Harry and Rose being called along with the other first years.

Their brooms jumped into their hands immediately, but their's were the few that did. Hermione's had rolled over on the ground, and Neville's broom hadn't moved at all. The Harry and Rose being wondered if brooms, like horses, could sense if you were nervous or not. Neville clearly seemed to want to keep his feet on the ground.

Madam Hooch next showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, walking among them and correcting their grips. The Harry and Rose being and Ron were delighted to hear her tell Malfoy she'd been gripping his wrong for years. She then returned to the front of the class.

"When I blow my whistle, kick off from the ground hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward. On my whistle, three, two..."

Neville, who was nervous, jumpy, and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched her lips. The Harry and Rose being watched in horror as he rose twenty feet into the air, gasp, then slipped sideways off the broom and crash to the ground with a nasty sounding crack. The broom kept rising and started to drift toward the forbidden forest as Madam Hooch hurried to his side, her face white.

"Broken wrist." She muttered. "Come on, boy, up you get, it's all right." She turned to the rest of the class and spoke strictly. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say Quidditch. Come on, dear."

Neville hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. His face was streaked with tears from the pain he felt, and perhaps fear as well. The Harry and Rose being felt a wave of compassion toward him. As soon as they were out of earshot, Malfoy burst out in laughter.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Malfoy asked with a grin.

"How would you feel if you were dropped from a great height, Malfoy?" The Harry and Rose being asked, feeling the familiar hot rage and fury burning within them.

"I wouldn't whine like him, I can tell you." Malfoy said, laughing with the other Slytherin's. "Oh, look what he dropped. That stupid Remembrall his granny sent him."

The Remembrall glittered in the son as Malfoy held it up.

"Give that here, Malfoy." The Harry and Rose being stated quietly and coldly.

Malfoy smiled in a nasty sort of way as everyone went quiet to watch.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up a tree?" With a grin, Malfoy got on his broom and kicked off.

Malfoy could fly quite well. It seemed he hadn't been lying about that part. With a burning fury, the Harry and Rose being got on their brooms and kicked off, ignoring Hermione's warning they'd get them into trouble. Wind rushed through their hair and their robes soared out behind them. Fierce joy overcame their anger and they realized this was something they could do without being taught. It was easy, wonderful! With wide grins, they leveled with Malfoy, pulling their broomsticks up to do so. With a sharp turn, they were facing Malfoy, who looked stunned.

"Give it here or I'll knock you off that broom!" The Harry and Rose being said.

"Oh, yeah?" Malfoy said, trying to sneer.

"You think I'm bluffing? I'm not." The Harry and Rose being responded.

They grasped their broom in both hands, turned a little in opposite directions, then shot forward and turned toward Malfoy, moving quite quickly. Their heart pounded with the rush of adrenaline and fierce joy. Malfoy barely got out of their way and they spun to face him. It was slightly dizzying to move so quickly in different directions, but they imagined they'd get used to it soon enough. A few people were clapping and cheering.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to fight your battles for you, Malfoy!" The Harry and Rose being said coolly.

"Well then, catch it if you can!" Malfoy cried, then threw the Remembrall as hard as he could.

The Harry and Rose being saw the ball moving in slow motion as it rose up, then headed back down. They leaned forward and pointed their broom handles down, picking up speed. They whooped with fierce joy as they sped toward it, though as the Rose half started picking up speed, her broom started to vibrate horribly under her and she quickly headed back to the ground. The Harry half was still headed toward it moving faster and faster, wind whistling in his ears mingled with the screams of people as the Rose half dismounted and dropped her broom. The Harry half stretched out his hand and caught the Remembrall a foot from the ground, just in time to pull his broom straight and topple gently to the ground. As he rolled to a stop, then jumped to his feet, the Harry half grinned widely along with the Rose half, who had been running to keep up with him. She reached his side as a voice rang out across the grounds.

"Harry Potter!"

Professor McGonagall sounded utterly furious as she ran toward the Harry and Rose being, who's heart sank faster than the Harry half had dived. The Harry half let his broom fall to the ground and stood, trembling.

"Never in all my time at Hogwarts..." Professor McGonagall was shocked. "You could have broken your neck!"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor..."

"Be quiet, Miss Patil..."

"But Malfoy..."

"Enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

"Me too, Professor?" The Rose half asked in a trembling voice.

"Yes of course." Professor McGonagall snapped.

The Harry and Rose being held hands tightly as they followed Professor McGonagall, catching sight of Crabbe and Goyle, along with Malfoy. They looked triumphant. As they followed Professor McGonagall toward the castle, they knew they were going to be expelled. If anything, that would give them time to think about Black and their situation with him.

The Harry and Rose being hadn't even lasted two weeks. In ten minutes, they would be packing their bags. Weren't the Dursley's going to be in for a surprise when they showed up after so little time. They'd probably kick them out before they could even get back in the house, though perhaps not. Perhaps Uncle Vernon would gleefully laugh and say in a boisterous voice, "What did I tell you? Mad, the lot of them!"

Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to them as they followed her up marble staircases and through doors that she wrenched open. She was probably taking them to Dumbledore, the Harry and Rose being thought miserably. Hagrid had also been expelled and he'd been given the job of grounds keeper. Perhaps the Harry and Rose being would be assisting him, or in some other job, perhaps helping Filch to keep the castle clean and tidy. Their stomachs twisted into knots of nervousness as they thought about watching their friends becoming wizards as they did odd jobs around the castle, never to learn magic again.

Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

The Harry and Rose being stared around, recognizing the charms class room and the corridor beyond. Their heart still pounded and they wondered what Wood was. It turned out he was a student who was looking rather confused.

Together, the Harry and Rose being and Wood followed Professor McGonagall down a corridor until she directed them to enter a classroom that was almost completely empty. Peeves, who had been writing rather rude words on the chock board was dismissed by Professor McGonagall. He threw the chock into the bin as he left and Professor McGonagall vanished the words with a wave of her wand. She then slammed the door and turned to the Harry and Rose being and Wood.

"Potter's, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a seeker." Professor McGonagall said.

Wood's expression changed to delight and he grinned.

"Are you serious, Professor?" He asked.

"Absolutely." Professor McGonagall responded. "Boy's a natural, I've never seen anything like it before in my life. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being said. "If the Rose half's broom hadn't been vibrating, she would have kept going."

"You were up there, too?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply.

"It was so easy!" The Rose half said with a grin of delight. "It was wonderful, Professor!"

"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty foot dive, go on, hold it up, Potter." Professor McGonagall said.

The Harry half held up the Remembrall, which he still held clasped in his hand. The Harry and Rose being sighed with relief and relaxed, their grip on each other's hands loosening.

"Charlie Weasley couldn't have done what he did." Professor McGonagall continued.

Wood was looking as if all of his dreams had come true at once. Excited, he asked, "Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?"

"Wood's Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team." Professor McGonagall explained.

Wood and McGonagall talked among themselves as Wood examined the Harry half, pointing out the Rose half as a possible reserve seeker. When she sternly looked at the Harry and Rose being, they returned her gaze.

"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change your mind about punishing you." Her voice was firm and stern, but quite suddenly, she smiled.

"Your father would have been proud. He was an excellent Quidditch player himself." She added.

The Harry and Rose being gazed on for a moment, then said, "Which half?"

"Oh, the Harry half, of course." Professor McGonagall replied, though that gave them an idea.

"Professor McGonagall, can I speak with you for a moment?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Certainly." She said.

"I'll just be outside." Wood said, excusing himself.

"What is it, Harry, Rose?" Professor McGonagall asked in concern.

"I found out about who the father of the Rose half is." The Harry and Rose being stated.

Professor McGonagall sighed, looking weary.

"I had hoped you wouldn't have such a burden placed on your shoulders at such a young age, but I never agreed to withhold that information from you." She said.

"It's okay. Professor." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I'm angry at Sirius Black for what he did, but I've made a decision. I want to see him. I want to know why he betrayed my parents."

"I don't believe that's such a good idea." Professor McGonagall said after a long moment. "Azkaban is a place where many prisoners lose their sanity. I would shutter to think of what the Dementors would do to either of you."

"I'm just one, Professor, remember?" The Harry and Rose being said.

"Of course." Professor McGonagall replied. "It's difficult to get used to that fact."

"Professor McGonagall, he is family. Don't I have a right to see him?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"I would think so. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, only high ranking ministry officials are allowed to visit convicts in the prison." Professor McGonagall responded. "I am afraid that you will be unable to do so."

"Oh." The Harry and Rose being said. "Professor, was Black ever given a trial?"

"The evidence against him was irrefutable. A trial was unnecessary." Professor McGonagall stated.

"I see." The Harry and Rose being said thoughtfully. "Thanks for telling me, Professor."

"You're quite welcome." Professor McGonagall responded.

After that, Wood came back in and Professor McGonagall left. Once the door was closed, Wood started speaking to the Harry and Rose being, explaining some things to them. He couldn't be gone too long, though, so made his explanations quick. On the hole, the Harry and Rose being were relieved at how their day had ended, though thoughts of Black lingered in their mind throughout their conversation with Wood. With no trial, how had his guilt actually been determined? They didn't know, but at some point, decided to do more research on the matter. 


	9. Chapter 9

A.N.  
sfjoellen: Thanks for your review and suggestions! The view from Harry and Rose, or rather, the Harry and Rose being is difficult to write since two things would be happening at once if they're in different locations. It's also hard for me to imagine how their mind works, since they actually have two minds and are capable of following duel lines of thought at once, or focusing on one with far more concentration than any normal person would be able to accomplish. However, there are portions in the story that attempt to show these things in later chapters, so stay tuned. As for writing from the view of their mind and what they feel, it's there already to a degree, even in this chapter when they go on their little adventure.

And since I don't like long author's notes, I'll end it here and simply say, enjoy!

Chapter 9 The Midnight Adventure and the Full Moon Dealings

"You're joking."

Ron stared at the Harry and Rose being with a fork full of food in his hand, which he'd forgotten about after they told him about what had happened.

"Seeker? But first years never... You must be the youngest house player in..."

"A century." The Harry and Rose being said, putting fork fulls of food in their mouths, quite hungry after their ordeal.

"Wow." He said, staring at them.

"The Harry half starts training next week, the Rose half will be the reserve." The Harry and Rose being said. "Don't tell anyone, though. Wood wants to keep it a secret, but I wanted to tell you since you're the first friend I've ever really had who accepts me as I am."

Fred and George came over to them and spoke in low voices.

"Well done. Wood just told us. We're on the team too, beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year. We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us." Fred said.

"And reserve, Rose?" George added. "He said if your broom hadn't malfunctioned, you'd be up there with Harry."

"Of course, given that you're one individual, that's understandable." Fred responded and the Harry and Rose being beamed brightly, feeling pure delight.

"Why thank you, good sirs." The Harry and Rose being said. "More acceptance, how wonderful!"

"Not a problem at all, Harry and Rose." George said, then the twins left. The Harry and Rose being then spotted Malfoy coming over with Crabbe and Goyle.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" Malfoy asked gloatingly.

"Now that you have your friends to back you up, you're quite a bit braver, aren't you?" The Harry and Rose being asked with a cold fury. "I doubt you'd do anything alone."

"Yeah?" Malfoy asked in response, scowling. "Same with you, Potter, can't talk without your little girlfriend, can't do anything with her, can you? Bet she's the brains behind everything, probably the brawn too, by the look of her."

"I can do what I like, Malfoy." The Harry half stated in response. "With or without Rose."

"Right." Malfoy responded in a cold drawl. "That little article about you, couldn't go five minutes without a little fame, could you, Potter?"

"I don't want fame, Malfoy. You, on the other hand, couldn't be without your friends for five minutes, could you?" The Harry half asked.

"Sure I could." Malfoy stated coldly. "I'd take you on any time on my own, accept you're too big a coward."

"Try me." The Harry half stated, glaring into his eyes. "Just try me, Malfoy."

"Fine, then." Malfoy stated with the same cold glare. "Midnight tonight, the trophy room. That's always unlocked."

"I have to ask, Malfoy, do you think I'm stupid?" The Harry half stated more calmly now.

"What makes you ask?" Malfoy questioned.

"You want me to meet up with you at midnight. In the trophy room. After the time we should be in bed. You want me expelled I'm sure, this is undoubtedly a way for you to get that, hmm? You'll probably run to Filch, won't you? Just like the little coward you are." The Harry half stated with a smirk.

A pink tinge appeared in Malfoy's cheeks and he looked utterly furious.

"I'll be there, Potter. Wizards duel, wands only, no contact. Who's your second going to be, your little girlfriend?" Malfoy asked with a cold fury.

"No, me, Malfoy." Ron spoke up.

"Fine." Malfoy replied. "Crabbe will be mine."

Malfoy then stormed away with Crabbe and Goyle. Smirking in a satisfied way, the Harry and Rose being began to eat again.

"What's a wizard's duel, anyway?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "And what's a second?"

"A second's there to take over if you die." Ron responded in a casual tone. "That only happens in proper duels, though, the most you and Malfoy will be able to do is send sparks at each other."

"Or blind him." The Harry and Rose being said. "I know the Lumos charm pretty well."

"Good one!" Ron said.

"Excuse me." Hermione's familiar bossy tones broke in and the Harry and Rose being looked over at her.

"Hermione, I know what you're going to say." The Harry and Rose being responded. "We shouldn't wander, we'll lose points, yadda yadda yadda. I've tried being nice, I've tried being your friend. But I'm really getting tired of you butting in to things you shouldn't. So will you please mind your own business for once?"

"All I'm trying to do is be helpful, but if you don't want it, fine then." Hermione responded, sniffing disapprovingly.

The Harry and Rose being sighed.

"I'm rather upset about a lot of things, Hermione." The Harry and Rose being stated. "Discovering the father of the Rose half to be working for Voldemort," They ignored the gasps from around them. "Malfoy's continued bullying, which I really dislike, and I'm not going to let an opportunity pass up to put him in his place."

"And you think he'll show up, do you?" Hermione asked. "If I wanted you expelled, I wouldn't show even after making you think I would."

"I'll think about that." The Harry and Rose being said, continuing to eat their food.

"Think about it, you serious mate?" Ron asked. "Think about all the thing's Malfoy's done and said. That's what you should think about. I mean, you could probably take him down a peg or two."

"And the other side of the issue?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "If he is trying to get us into trouble, then what? If Filch comes creeping around? Then we will be in trouble."

"It's worth it." Ron said.

"Is it?" The Harry and Rose being asked, thinking despite their emotions, something they had experience with because of the anger they experienced around and on the full moon.

"What do you mean, is it, of course it is!" Ron said, as if there was nothing more to do and nothing more to say.

As the Harry and Rose being finished off their plates of food, Ron added, "If you're not going, I still am. I've been waiting to give Malfoy what he deserves and I'm not going to pass up this opportunity."

The Harry and Rose being shook their heads slowly, then said, "If that's what you want, but it's probably better not to go."

Sleeping was uninterrupted for the Harry and Rose being most nights, but another consequence of staying with the Dursley's had taught them to sleep lightly. They woke when they heard a shrill voice speaking. If they could be heard through the door, even a little, it was likely teachers could also hear them. Quickly, wearing their bathrobes and warm slippers, they jumped out of bed and moved to the door, pulling it open to see the corridor.

The first thing they saw was Hermione, who looked angry with Ron. Next, they saw the empty portrait of the fat lady, and Neville, who looked as if he'd just woken up.

"Well, isn't this interesting." The Harry and Rose being said with a grin. "I did warn you, Ron."

"You too?" Ron asked. "What, you're taking her side?"

"Be quiet." The Harry and Rose being said, stepping from the room and letting the door close behind them. "Listen, I'm not taking anyone's side. I wasn't originally going to go, but since we're all here, might as well, right?"

"What!" Hermione cried in a quiet whisper, looking angry.

"Besides, the fat lady's gone for now. So let's go." The Harry and Rose being grinned. Huffing, Hermione followed them as they all proceeded down the corridor, the Rose half taking the lead and the Harry half by Neville.

"How's the arm?" The Harry half asked in a quiet whisper.

"It's good." Neville said, showing it to him. "Madam Pomfrey healed it pretty quick but I'd been out there for hours before Ron and Hermione showed up. I forgot the new password."

"It's pig snout." The Harry half said. "Try to remember that, but if you can't, you might write it down."

"Yeah." Neville said. "Thanks for that idea."

"No problem." The Harry half responded.

The Harry and Rose being's heart pounded. Walking through the corridors at night was both a nerve racking and exhilarating experience. The Rose half listened and gazed intently around for Filch, though they didn't come across him. They made it to the trophy room without incident. Crystal cases glimmered in the moonlight. Various trophies of different kinds, along with cups, shields, and plates shined silver and gold. The Harry half pulled out his wand as he and the Rose half kept an eye on the doors at either end of the room. Minutes passed in silence.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out." Ron whispered.

A noise in the next room caused them to jump, though the Harry and Rose being were less startled. A voice spoke that wasn't Malfoy's. It was Filch.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

The Harry and Rose being waved for everyone to follow. They'd been right. That was the last time they ever did anything like this. As they exited the room using the door at the other end, Filch entered with his cat.

"They're in here somewhere, probably hiding." Filch muttered.

The Harry and Rose being led the way as they crept down rows of suits of armor, Filch coming closer all the while. Neville let out a terrified squeak and broke into a run, tripped, then grabbed Ron around the waist where they crashed into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing was quite loud and the Rose half hauled Neville and Ron up, pulling them behind her as she broke into a run with the Harry half and Hermione behind.

They had no idea where they were going, they simply ran as quickly as they could down the corridors. After tearing through a tapestry and sprinting through a passage way, they found themselves in the charms corridor, which was quite far from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him." The Harry half said, panting as he leaned against the wall and wiped his forehead. The Rose half released Neville, who was bent double, and Ron, who was also panting heavily.

"I told you, I told you." Hermione said, glaring at Ron as she clutched her chest.

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower as quickly as possible." Ron said.

"You realize Harry and Rose were right, don't you Ron?" Hermione asked.

Ron said nothing accept, "Let's go."

They straightened up, but before they could get anywhere, a door in front of them rattled and Peeves came shooting out of the classroom in front of them. Catching sight of them, he gave a squeal of delight.

"Peeves, shh!" The Harry and Rose being stated. "You'll get us kicked out!"

Peeves cackled, then said, "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." The Harry and Rose being said pleadingly.

"Should tell Filch, I should," Peeves said in a saintly voice, his eyes glittering wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Out of the way." Ron said, swiping at Peeves, who took a deep breath.

"No!" The Harry and Rose being cried quietly.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves shouted. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

They ducked under Peeves and ran as quickly as they could to the end of the corridor, the Rose half grabbing frantically at a locked door, struggling to open it in vane.

"This is it!" Ron moaned as they struggled to enter. "We're done for! This is the end!"

They could hear footsteps running toward Peeves's shouting. Hermione grabbed the Rose half's wand as she said, "Move over!" She then tapped the lock and whispered, "Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door swung open. They rushed through and closed it behind them, trembling fiercely. As the Harry half pressed his ear to the door, the Rose half turned and stared in utter terror.

A massive creature stood, three heads looking around and aimed in their direction. Their heart pounded hard and they trembled, staying as quiet as they could. Slowly, the Rose half stared at the creature, which seemed to be a large dog as Filch said, "Which way did they go, Peeves? Quick, tell me."

"Say please." Peeves responded as the Rose half lowered her eyes, staring and realizing the dog was standing on a trap door. The Harry and Rose being's heart continued to slam in their chest as the Rose half looked back up at the heads, which were sniffing. They were in the forbidden third floor corridor, and the dog seemed to be guarding something.

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?" Filch asked.

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please." Peeves said in his annoying singsong voice.

Don't move, don't move, don't move, the Harry and Rose being chanted silently in their mind, but even so, they could barely hear the dog starting to growl ever so slightly through the Rose half's sensitive ears.

"All right- please." Filch said with resignation.

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" Peeves then zoomed off and Filch stormed away, cursing angrily.

"Let's all very calmly and quietly move." The Rose half stated in a quiet, but calm voice.

"Why, what..." Ron began, then stared with an open mouth.

The giant dog was getting over its surprise at their arrival and was growling louder now, with more fierceness. The Harry and Rose being didn't scream, but quickly opened the door instead. The five of them ran as quickly as they could back down the corridor, terrified. They didn't run into Filch, though if they had, they wouldn't have cared. They only stopped when they reached the portrait of the fat lady on the seventh floor.

"Where on earth have you all been?" She asked, staring at them.

"Never mind that." Ron said, gasping. "Pig snout, pig snout."

The portrait swung open and Ron entered with Neville and Hermione. Trembling, the Harry and Rose being moved to their room and whispered the password that opened the door. Once they entered, they moved to the bed and lay down, trembling and clutching each other tightly. As they calmed, they realized the dog was probably guarding something rather important, and Professor Dumbledore hadn't been joking about a painful death on the forbidden third floor corridor. Their adventure hadn't been discovered as far as they knew, and now, they had a rather curious mystery to think about. What was so important that the dog needed to guard a trap door? With thoughts swimming around in their mind, they drifted quickly off to sleep.

September 16, 1991.

Time had flown bye so quickly at Hogwarts that the Harry and Rose being had completely forgotten about their changes as the full moon grew closer. It was the faint, but deep fury and other emotions that prompted them when they woke that Monday morning. Professor Snape and Malfoy were going to be a test of control, for sure. They decided to seek out Professor McGonagall to speak to her about their changes, but she found them that evening.

"I wish to speak with you when you finish your meals." She said after coming up to them. "I will be in my office. You know how to get there, I trust?"

"Yes, Professor." The Harry and Rose being responded.

Professor Dumbledore was also there, something they hadn't expected. He simply smiled widely at both of them, already seated. It seemed he and Professor McGonagall had been in the middle of a conversation, but as she'd asked them here, it probably wasn't one they minded continuing later.

"Have a seat." She directed them to her desk, and after waving her wand, two more chairs appeared in front of it. The Harry and Rose being sat, glancing from her to Professor Dumbledore.

"We have, in the past, accommodated a student who was a werewolf." Professor McGonagall began. "The effects he received on the full moon are different than what you told me. Given that there were no difficulties at the Dursley's, can I presume that you are not a danger to the students?"

"None that provoke me, but I don't know what would happen if one did." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I try to keep control of myself, but it's difficult."

"I assume this is because of the anger you told me about when I took you shopping." Professor McGonagall said.

"Yes, Professor." The Harry and Rose being replied. "That day was quite close to the full moon, but the anger I usually feel was overshadowed by the joy of the new experiences, so it was fairly easy to control."

"If you were to be caught in a situation where you were provoked, Mr. Malfoy for instance, would a warning suffice to stop either of you from doing something that could get you into trouble?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Maybe, but I might not be kind about it." The Harry and Rose being stated. "The full moon's are the worst. Days like today are manageable, but it's usually tomorrow or the next day that differences are noticed. I'll be more hungry as the full moon approaches, so I'll definitely be glad for the amount of food I'm able to eat here."

"Professor McGonagall and I wish to show you both something." Professor Dumbledore said as he stood. The Harry and Rose being doing the same with him.

Professor McGonagall followed them as Professor Dumbledore led them to a tree who's branches were moving here and there despite the lack of wind. They observed closely as he picked up a branch from the ground and prodded at a very specific place on the tree, which froze. They proceeded into a dark tunnel, the Rose half ducking and keeping a hand out in case she came upon any protrusions in the rock. They continued along the tunnel and it sloped upward after a great distance, then they exited into an old, dusty shack. Furniture was overturned and claw and bite marks were in many things. The windows were boarded up, and it looked as if no one had occupied the place in many years. Stains were on the floor that looked like blood, and the wall paper was pealing off.

"This is where we took the student who was a werewolf." Professor Dumbledore said, gazing around. "This is known as the Shrieking Shack, and is located in a magical village called Hogsmeade."

"You think I should come here during the full moon?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"If you need an outlet for your emotions or believe it would assist you in some way, yes." Professor McGonagall responded. "I have informed the other professors about your circumstances, so they will be aware to watch for you coming to this place on the evening of the full moons, and coming from it the morning after. If you wish to go to the Shack, try and remember to let Madam Pomfrey know and she will take you. You will be allowed this, and only this exception to the curfew."

"I understand, Professor." The Harry and Rose being said. "Thanks for showing me this."

September 20, 1991.

The Harry and Rose being watched the owls as they entered the great hall that Friday morning. Six owls carrying a long, thin package caught everyone's attention. The Harry and Rose being gazed on with everyone else to see what was in it. They glanced down as it was placed in front of them, knocking their bacon to the floor. They silently scowled at the owls as they flew off, spotting another owl put a letter down on top of the package. The Rose half snatched the letter and opened it, reading quickly.

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.

The Harry and Rose being glanced over at Ron, who was staring at them.

"What is it, mate?" He asked.

The Rose half gave him the note, the Harry and Rose being feeling oddly calm for this time of the month. They knew it was due to their joy, which likely wouldn't last long.

"Oh, wow!" Ron said, though kept his voice down. "A Nimbus Two Thousand! I've never even touched one!"

"You'll have your chance." The Harry and Rose being said. "I want to open it before class, come if you want."

The Harry and Rose being were terse, but had explained their situation to Ron already. They were warned against relating it to the condition of werewolves. If they had, it was likely they would experience a great deal of prejudice from others. Like everything else, Ron had accepted their condition and had even helped keep them calm with a few words over the last few days. He followed them as they walked from the great hall, but stopped as Crabbe and Goyle were blocking their way to the upper levels. Malfoy grabbed the package from the Rose half and felt it. In response, she reached forward and gripped his wrists tightly in her hands, glaring into his eyes.

"Release it. Now." She stated in a low, furious growl.

"I was going to anyway." Malfoy said furiously, letting it go, the Harry half grabbing it. He looked rather jealous. "First years aren't allowed their own broomsticks, you know."

"How nice of you to remind me of the rules I already know." The Harry and Rose being stated coldly. "Or perhaps you're reminding yourself."

"Why you little..." Malfoy drew his wand. The Rose half moved so fast her actions were a blur to Ron. Malfoy's wand went flying and she gripped his robes in her hands, glaring into his eyes.

"Don't even think about that, Malfoy!" She stated furiously, raising her voice a little and shaking him quite hard.

"Is there a problem I should know about here?" Professor Flitwick said, appearing at the Rose half's side. With a low growl, she released Malfoy's robes and gripped the Harry half's hand, he gripping hers with equal force.

"No, Professor." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Good, then. Crabbe, Goyle, I suggest you stop blocking the stairs." Professor Flitwick indicated and the two moved out of the way.

As the Harry and Rose being stormed up the stares, Ron followed behind them, staring in shock.

"Man, you're scary." He said.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being stated.

They didn't have time to unwrap the broomstick, only put it gently in their room before proceeding to potions. They entered, and as usual, Professor Snape made his own entry and called role. Once finished, he gave the Harry half a long, hard stare and he glared back with a deep frown.

"Today, we shall be making a simple color changing solution." Professor Snape began. "Its usefulness is detailed in your books and the instructions are on the board. Nothing in this potion is particularly... Explosive." He sneered at the Harry half and the Harry and Rose being clenched their fists. "Begin."

Perhaps this class wouldn't be so bad after all, they thought. Professor Snape swooped in a few minutes later just as the Harry and Rose being began working together. They looked up at him.

"I do not believe it wise for the two of you to work together, Potter..." He gave a long pause, then stated in a cold voice that only the Rose half heard, "Black."

The Rose half growled in fury and the Harry half glared at Professor Snape, who smirked.

"Who, then?" The Rose half asked.

"You, with Weasley." Snape stated and the Rose half moved over to Ron. "And you, Potter, perhaps you can make certain that Mr. Longbottom does nothing rash this time."

The Harry and Rose being worked in silence, occasionally scowling angrily at Professor Snape when he wasn't looking. Their potion was done well, though the Harry half had to keep Neville on track, doing his best to hide their emotions from him. He seemed to do well, as Neville didn't seem afraid of him, only glad for the help. By the end of the day, the Harry and Rose being were eager to fly the broom they'd received. They entered their room and unwrapped it, gazing at it before the Harry half picked it up and they proceeded to the Quidditch Pitch.

Flying took their anger away from them, but it only lasted as long as the Harry half was in flight and learning about Quidditch from Wood. The Harry and Rose being spent the weekend alone and working on their homework, something they were glad to do as their emotions rose. By Monday, they didn't even want to attend class, but decided to do so and speak with no one.

"You both doing okay?" Ron asked the Harry and Rose being that morning as they ate quite a bit more than usual.

"Fine." The Rose half shot back in anger. "Don't talk to me."

"Okay." Ron said a little nervously. "I was just asking."

"This is my worst day, okay?" The Harry and Rose being said, glaring angrily. "Get used to it."

Ron simply nodded. Classes went well for the most part, and as Professor McGonagall had said, the other Professors had been informed about the Harry and Rose being's condition. Malfoy either hadn't been warned or simply wanted to provoke them that evening, a rather unwise choice on his part. As the Harry and Rose being spotted him approach with Crabbe and Goyle, they stared with cold scowls.

"Let me guess, Potter." Malfoy said with a sneer. "You're so connected to that girlfriend of yours that her emotional time effects you. No wonder you act like one. Going to start donating money to Weasley, are you? It would take that to keep him as a friend."

"Shows what you know, Malfoy." Ron responded as the Harry and Rose being's hands shook.

"Does it now, Weasley? And I was speaking to Potter." Malfoy said.

The Harry and Rose being said nothing, their heart pounding and fury ripping through them.

"What's wrong, Potter, mute? Or just taking orders from your girl?" Malfoy smirked darkly and stared at the Rose half, eyeing her up and down with a look the Harry and Rose being didn't like at all.

With a leap, the Rose half was over the table and had Malfoy by the shoulder with her left hand, her right raising in a fist, the Harry and Rose being filled with pure rage.

"Stop." Professor McGonagall's voice was firm like a whip and cut through the tension. The Rose half glared at her and Professor McGonagall gazed back sternly.

"Look at me like that again, Malfoy." The Rose half stated in a cold growl, her right hand dropping to her side.

Malfoy stared, terrified as the Rose half glared into his eyes and moved her face closer to his, staring him down.

"Go on." She growled in a cold hiss.

Malfoy let out a whimper and the Rose half released him. Turning, he ran off with Crabbe and Goyle, the Harry and Rose being calming a little from the slight amusement. Professor McGonagall frowned a little and the Harry and Rose being quickly turned and headed from the great hall.

Professor McGonagall followed them as they exited Hogwarts, the Harry and Rose being tightly gripping hands and storming through the grounds toward the tree that moved on its own, which was known as the Whomping Willow. They pressed the knot on the tree to stop its movement and stormed into the passage, not caring weather Professor McGonagall was following them or not. Once they entered the shack, the Harry and Rose being paced, staring at the light that came streaming in through the windows. Hearing a sound, they whirled and stared at Professor McGonagall, who simply nodded silently and turned, heading back from where she'd come.

Soon, the full moon hit the Rose half and the Harry and Rose being screamed in agony. Lava was ripping through their vanes, acid was melting their bodies from the inside out, the pain seemed to go on forever. It ended after only a few seconds and the Harry and Rose being stared at one another before the Rose half spun and glared out the window. The Harry half strode to her side and leaned against her, their anger directed at Malfoy. With a furious growl, the Rose half spun and grabbed one of the pieces of Furniture, letting out a roar as she ripped another of its legs off, flinging both against one of the walls. The Harry and Rose being then moved up the stares to a room with a bed in it. They could smell the scent of dust in the air through the Rose half, who stared out the windows again before they moved back down the stares. The brief outlet of aggression was only somewhat satisfying, and on the hole, the Shrieking Shack was quite boring.

The Harry and Rose being let out a frustrated growl as they stared down at the floor. Curious, the Rose half got down on her hands and knees, sniffing the floor and scent of Professor McGonagall. She stood after a moment and spun in a circle, pacing around and around the room. They wanted to explore and knew it was quite likely they would get into trouble for it. Furious, the Harry and Rose being let out a shout, the Rose half slamming her fist into one of the walls, tearing at the pealing wall paper with her long and lethal looking nails. The Harry half moved to the Rose half, who turned and sank to the floor with him, the Harry and Rose being glaring with cold, furious scowls. After a moment, the Harry and Rose being began making their way back through the passage and knew someone would be waiting for them.

Just as they expected, someone was there. They hadn't expected who it would be, though. Professor Dumbledore was sitting some distance away from the base of the Whomping Willow, humming a tune to himself. As the Harry and Rose being ran from the violently swinging branches of the Whomping Willow, their heart pounding, Professor Dumbledore stood and vanished the chair with a wave of his wand, smiling at them.

"I often find that a late night stroll does wonders to clear the mind." He said as if this was any ordinary day. It was almost as if he knew what they wanted.

The Harry and Rose being only gazed across the grounds and began walking, Professor Dumbledore quietly and unobtrusively walking with them. Several times, the Harry and Rose being would stop and the Rose half would touch and smell various plants, bushes and trees that grew on the grounds. They were delighted to explore the new and fascinating world of Hogwarts in a hole new way, but eventually, the Harry and Rose being moved toward Hogwarts. Being late, they didn't expect many people to be up.

Professor Snape stood just inside the front doors, an unpleasant sneer curling his lips as the Harry and Rose being entered.

"Well, well." He said in a deadly quiet voice. "Saint Potter and his girlfriend believes the rules are above them, do they?"

The Harry and Rose being tried to scream and lunge at him, but found they couldn't move forward and no sound escaped their throats. They whirled to glare at Dumbledore, who firmly gazed back at them, stepping past them. They spun again and struggled to get to Professor Snape, who stared at the Rose half wildly and violently beating her hands against an invisible barrier, the Harry and Rose being's mouths wide in a silent roar of rage. They didn't think, only felt pure fury toward the Professor who hated them.

"Perhaps it would be wise of you to cease your remarks, Severus." Professor Dumbledore stated calmly. "Harry, Rose, follow me."

The Harry and Rose being continued to struggle to reach Professor Snape, who whirled, his black cloak billowing behind him as he made his way toward the dungeons. The Rose half lunged forward over and over again, continuing to hit the invisible barrier. Professor Dumbledore turned and pinned them with a firm gaze.

"Harry, Rose, your continued efforts are useless." He said.

The Rose half stopped struggling.

"Will you promise me that you will stop your attempts to reach Professor Snape, and shall follow me when I lower the barrier?" Professor Dumbledore asked calmly, as if they were talking over tea.

The Harry and Rose being nodded sharply. Professor Dumbledore lowered the barrier with a wave of his wand. The Harry and Rose being started to follow Professor Dumbledore, who turned his back on them. Without warning, the Rose half jumped toward the dungeons, moving in a blur, the Harry and Rose being determined to hunt Professor Snape, to make him afraid of them. Professor Dumbledore spun so quickly it seemed that he appeared facing them, his wand sweeping across the floor in a wide arc. A wave of red light sped toward them, hitting the Harry and Rose being, who collapsed unconscious.

The Harry and Rose being slowly woke in their room, their eyes opening. They caught sight of Professor Dumbledore, who seemed to be reading an intently fascinating book. The full moon had passed and they sat up. Professor Dumbledore looked at them over his book and smiled, his eyes twinkling.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly. "You stopped me."

"I did." Professor Dumbledore confirmed. "I wish no harm on Severus, but I fear you would have killed him given the chance."

"No." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I will never kill. Never."

Professor Dumbledore gave them a long and piercing look, then nodded and said, "I believe you. Should you wish, I shall excuse you from classes for the day, unless you believe yourself capable of controlling yourself."

"I'll be fine." The Harry and Rose being said, breathing deeply as they stood, stretching.

"Very well, then." Professor Dumbledore responded. "I shall bid you a pleasant day." With a smile and a wave, Professor Dumbledore swept from the room, the chair he'd been sitting on vanishing before he left. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 The Troll, The New Friend, and Acceptance

September 27, 1991.

Professor Severus Snape stared silently at the Harry and Rose being, then ever so slowly, put their single essay down on the desk in front of them.

"And what, precisely, is this?" He asked quietly.

"The assignment on the interaction between the ingredients in the color changing potion, sir." The Harry half responded.

"Really, Potter?" Professor Snape asked. "And you believe it is acceptable for you to sign it with Harry and Rose Potter, do you?"

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle shook with suppressed laughter on the other side of the room, taking glances at the Harry and Rose being who simply gazed at Professor Snape. It was four days since the full moon, and while their anger was still with them, they could control it much easier now.

"I am one being, Professor." The Harry and Rose being said. "If you like, I am capable of going against my nature and writing differently with each half of me, but it would make no difference."

"I am not as gullible as the other Professors here, Potter." Professor Snape stated coolly. "You would like us to believe that you deserve special treatment, that your status as a single being with Mrs. Potter somehow allows you to be above the rest of us. You will re due this assignment correctly, Potters. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." The Harry half responded. "You wish us to do the assignment against our nature so that it appears two individuals wrote it."

"No, Potter." Professor Snape said furiously. "You will do the assignment as the two individuals you are."

"But Professor, I am one individual." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Rest assured, Potters, I will be discussing this matter with the Headmaster. Six points from Gryffindor." Professor Snape stated coolly, then swept to the front of the class and began his lecture.

Out of all the professors, Professor Snape was the one who didn't except them as they were. His eyes always seemed to reflect utter malice and hate toward them. They knew he hated them, loathed them. His classes were a trial for them, especially around times such as these. The Harry and Rose being remembered flying on their broom and the anger they felt toward Professor Snape was put to rest for the moment. They hoped Professor Dumbledore would help them to be excepted by Professor Snape, though ever since their incident with him during the full moon, he seemed to hate them even more.

October 31, 1991.

Halloween came quickly, despite their keeping track of when the full moon would next arrive. The homework and Quidditch practice three evenings a week kept them quite busy. When they woke that Thursday morning, they could smell baking pumpkin in the corridors and throughout the castle. Charms class was quite a treat, as they were finally going to learn how to make objects fly. The Harry and Rose being grinned at that along with the rest of the class, all of them eager to learn.

To the Harry and Rose being's disappointment, they weren't partnered with each other. The Harry half was partnered with Seamus Finnigan and the Rose half was partnered with Neville Longbottom. Ron, on the other hand, was partnered with Hermione. Neither were happy about this, and while the Harry and Rose being had made some effort to talk with Hermione, she didn't reciprocate.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick said, standing on his usual pile of books. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too, never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said V instead of f and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

The Harry and Rose being attempted, along with Seamus and Neville, to perform the proper wrist movement and speak the spell. Quite frustrated, Seamus accidentally set fire to the feather which the Harry half put out with his hat. Calmly and concentrating, the Harry half flicked his wand and stated, "Wingardium Leviosa."

The feather lurched slightly, or perhaps that was the Harry and Rose being's imagination. At a table near, Ron was having similar difficulty and was arguing with Hermione on the proper pronunciation of the spell.

"You do it then, if you're so clever." Ron finally snarled and Hermione got out her wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione said after flicking her wand. The feather rose about four feet above their heads and Professor Flitwick clapped appreciatively.

"Oh, well done!" He said happily. "See here, Ms. Granger's done it!"

I can do this, the Harry and Rose being thought as Neville attempted the spell in vane. As the Harry half concentrated again and moved his wand more precisely, the Rose half said gently, "You're trying too hard, Neville. Calm down, okay?"

The feather floated from the Harry half's desk and Seamus threw his wand down in frustration. The Harry half let the feather fall and looked over at him calmly.

"Try not to be so frustrated. Here, let me show you." The Harry half said as the Rose half also spoke.

"It's like this, Neville, don't be too dramatic with your wand movements." She said. "It's a smooth motion." The Rose half demonstrated as the Harry half corrected Seamus's grip on his wand.

"Like this." He said, swishing it in a smooth and controlled way, then flicking. "See? Now try."

Grudgingly, and still frustrated, Seamus tried again, making the feather move a little. By the end of class, the Harry and Rose being had succeeded as Hermione had. Seamus was able to get one end to rise, but not the entire thing. Ron was in a rather bad mood, which the Harry and Rose being weren't surprised about.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her." He remarked as they entered the crowded corridor. "She's a nightmare, honestly."

The Harry half felt someone knock into his shoulder and the Harry and Rose being turned to see Hermione hurrying off in tears. They sighed, then turned to Ron and said, "She heard you, Ron, you really hurt her feelings."

"So?" Ron said, but looked uncomfortable. "She must have noticed she's got no friends."

"I'd imagine she has no friends because she hasn't worked out her insecurities yet, if that's what she has." The Rose half said. "I'm going to check on her."

She moved off quickly and the Harry half continued to their next class with Ron. The Rose half didn't find her, so rejoined them after a few minutes. Hermione didn't, and seemed to be absent throughout the afternoon.

As they were on their way down to the great hall, they overheard Parvati Patil telling Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls bathroom and wanted to be left alone. The Harry and Rose being felt silly for not thinking of that, but had no idea which girls bathroom Hermione would be found in. They noticed Ron looking even more awkward and uncomfortable and smiled.

"Good to know you have feelings, Ron." The Harry and Rose being said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked before they entered the great hall, the Halloween decorations causing him to forget about the conversation.

Despite the novelty of the magical decorations, the Harry and Rose being didn't forget about Hermione, and saw her nowhere in the great hall. They felt concern and decided the Rose half would look for her again after the feast. As they began to serve themselves something, Professor Quirrell burst into the great hall looking terrified.

After reaching Professor Dumbledore's chair, he slumped against the table and gasped, "Troll, in the dungeons, thought you ought to know." He then fainted. Some Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher, the Harry and Rose being thought with amusement.

The loud sound of just about everyone shouting and calling out was enough to drive the thought from their minds, but one remained. Hermione didn't know about the troll, and if it wasn't in the dungeons, she could be in danger. Several bangs indicating purple firecrackers erupted from Professor Dumbledore's wand, bringing silence to the great hall.

Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" Professor Dumbledore said authoritatively.

Percy looked quite satisfied and sounded very superior as he gave his orders to the first years. The Harry and Rose being didn't comment, but didn't like his attitude much. Nevertheless, they followed him along with the rest of the first years, staying close to Ron.

"Hermione doesn't know about the troll, Ron." The Harry and Rose being said quietly as they climbed the stares.

"What do we do?" Ron asked.

"We'll separate from everyone else and go find her." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Percy better not see us." Ron snapped.

"He won't." The Harry and Rose being said. "I'm used to evading people because of Dudley. Come on."

They ducked down and joined a group of Hufflepuffs moving the other way, their heads lowered as they made an effort to blend in and not be seen. The Rose half pulled Ron down a side corridor deserted of people, the Harry half following. They then began hurrying to the girls bathroom near the Charms corridor and heard quick footsteps behind them. Quickly, they ducked behind a large stone griffin and the Rose half peered around the edge carefully.

Professor Snape crossed the corridor quickly and disappeared from view. Their heart pounding, they moved on quickly.

"Wonder what he's up to." Ron whispered quietly.

"Who cares." The Harry and Rose being stated, but had a thought. They were close to the third floor, which seemed to be the direction Professor Snape had been heading. The dungeons were in the other direction.

As they crept up the next corridor, the Rose half smelled something horrible, like a public toilet no one cleans mixed with the stench of old socks. She held up a hand stopping them, and in moments, heard a grunting and shuffling sound. Ron pointed to the end of a passage to the left and the Rose half spotted something huge. Hurriedly, the Harry and Rose being shrank back with Ron and watched.

The troll's skin looked to be a dull gray almost like granite. It's body was lumpy like a boulder, it's head small in comparison. It's legs were short and as thick as tree trunks. It had flat feet and was holding a huge club that dragged along the ground, as its arms were quite long.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside, waggled its long ears, and made up its tiny mind. As it slouched into the room, the Rose half quietly crept forward, almost silent in her approach to the troll. The key was in the lock, but as she made to close and lock the door, she spotted the sign.

"Ron, it's the girls bathroom, Hermione." The Harry half said, the Harry and Rose being swallowing with dry mouths and trembling hands.

They stumbled forward as they heard a high, petrified scream of terror. Ron picked up his pace and the Harry half followed, the Rose half stepping quietly into the room, trembling and trying to remain quiet. Hermione was shrinking against the wall and looking as if she was about to faint. The Harry half and Ron hurried into the room behind the Rose half, who ran forward and to one side, shouting, "Hey you!"

The Troll turned to see what had made the noise and its eyes focused on the Rose half. As it made for her, the Harry half grabbed a tap and threw it hard. The Troll let out a roar as it lumbered around and spotted him. Ron, catching on, yelled, "Oy, pea-brain!"

He threw a metal pipe at the troll, though it didn't seem to notice the impact. It turned toward the sound of the voice, though, and started lumbering toward Ron, giving the Rose half enough time to run around it toward Hermione. She grabbed her and said quietly but firmly into her ear, "Run, run! Come on!" Hermione didn't move, petrified with terror. "I'll carry you if I have to!"

The troll roared again and sped its approach toward Ron. The Harry and Rose being knew they needed to distract the troll again and thought of something both brave and stupid. The Harry half took a running leap and put his arms around the troll's neck. It didn't feel him there, but it felt his wand which drove up its nose as he'd hung on. The troll howled in pain and flailed wildly, swinging its club, twisting and turning as the Harry half struggled to hang on. The Rose half hurried to try and distract the troll again as Hermione sank to the floor in fright, then the Harry and Rose being heard a call from the other side of the room.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

It was Ron, who had taken out his wand. The club flew from the troll's hand and high into the air. Turning slowly over, it dropped hard on the troll's head. The Harry half pulled his wand free as the troll swayed on the spot, then jumped into the Rose half's arms as it fell forward, smashing to the floor with a tremendous bang that shook the room. The Rose half clung to the Harry half, both trembling and gasping with terror. Ron was staring at what he'd done, his wand still raised. Surprisingly, it was Hermione that spoke first.

"Is it dead?" She asked.

"I don't think so." The Harry and Rose being said, voices trembling. "Just unconscious."

The Harry half bent over and wiped his wand, which looked as if it was covered in lumpy gray glue, on the troll's trousers. Straightening up again, the Harry and Rose being gripped each other's hands, their skin clammy.

They heard a sudden slamming and loud footsteps, realizing the sound they'd been making must have been heard from the lower floors. Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell entered, Professor Quirrell taking a single look at the troll and sinking down on to a toilet with a whimper, clutching at his heart.

Professor Snape bent over the troll and the Harry and Rose being stared mutely at Professor McGonagall, who had never looked more furious. They swallowed, their throats dry, still trembling with a pounding heart.

"What on earth were you thinking?" Professor McGonagall asked with cold fury. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why weren't you in your dormitory?"

Professor Snape gave the Harry half a swift, piercing look and he stared down at the floor. A small voice then came out of the shadows.

"Please, Professor McGonagall-they were looking for me." Hermione Granger said.

"Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall sounded astonished, but still angry.

Hermione, who had managed to get to her feet, spoke again.

"I went looking for the troll because I... I thought I could deal with it on my own... You know, because I've read all about them."

The Harry and Rose being held in their gasp of sheer surprise, but Ron wasn't quite as adept at hiding his feelings. A clattering caused them to look over at him, realizing he'd dropped his wand.

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." Hermione continued.

The Harry and Rose being didn't look surprised, and Ron picked his wand up off the floor. Professor McGonagall gazed at the four of them for a moment, then spoke.

"Well-in that case... Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head, looking ashamed. The Harry and Rose being didn't know what to say, but perhaps it was better if they said nothing. Hermione seemed to be doing all the talking, and lying, no less. She was such a stickler for the rules they were surprised she'd do anything like that.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this." Professor McGonagall continued. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hermione trudged from the bathroom and Professor McGonagall turned to Ron and the Harry and Rose being.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." She stated.

They hurried from the room and didn't speak until they'd climbed two floors up, the Harry half wiping his wand on the inside of his robes to try and clean it a little more. The Harry and Rose being's heart was calming and they were more relaxed, relieved to be away from the troll.

"We should have gotten more than fifteen points." Ron grumbled.

"Ten for Hermione's five she removed." The Harry and Rose being said. "Points, not a big deal."

"Well..." Ron said awkwardly, then added, "Good of her to get us out of trouble anyway. Mind you, we did save her."

"Something that wouldn't have been needed if you hadn't insulted her." The Harry and Rose being reminded.

By this time, they'd reached the portrait of the fat lady and the Harry and Rose being glanced briefly at the door to their room.

"Pig snout." Ron said.

He and the Harry and Rose being entered the packed common room. It was rather noisy, everyone eating the food that had been sent. Hermione was standing alone near the portrait hole, waiting for them to arrive. There was an awkward pause before everyone said thanks to each other, the Rose half briefly clasping Hermione's shoulder. They would forever remember that moment, not only because of the event, but the friend they gained in Hermione.

November 8, 1991.

Professor Snape limped over to the Harry and Rose being, Ron, and Hermione who were close to a bright blue fire Hermione had conjured, which could be carried around in a jar, blocking it from view. They didn't know if it was allowed or not, but didn't want to take any chances, especially with Professor Snape.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?" Professor Snape asked, seeming to look for some reason to tell them off.

"Quidditch Through the Ages." The Harry and Rose being said, the Harry half showing him.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school. Give it to me." Professor Snape stated.

The Harry half handed it over and he took it.

"Five points from Gryffindor." He stated, then walked off.

"He's made that rule up." The Harry and Rose being said angrily. "I don't know what's wrong with it, but I hope that leg of his is really hurting him."

They returned to the Gryffindor common room rather than spend more time in the freezing cold weather. Hermione, who had been much nicer to them after the incident with the mountain troll, read through their work and checked it. They wouldn't let them copy hers, but the Harry and Rose being were fine with that. Ron wanted to, which had prompted Hermione to ask, "How will you learn, Ronald, if you copy my work and don't do it for yourself?"

The Harry and Rose being were rather restless and their nerves were on edge for the coming Quidditch match. The Rose half would be called if she was needed, but Wood told her to hang out in the crowds since it wasn't likely she'd have to play. They were glad that at least one half of them would be safe. Given everything the Harry half had read about seekers in the book Hermione had lent him, they expected something to happen to him.

"I'm going to see if I can get my book back." The Harry and Rose being said, getting up.

"Better you than me." They said together. The Harry and Rose being grinned.

"Keep practicing that. Soon, you'll match us in our wonderful skill." The Harry and Rose being said, then turned and left the common room.

After knocking twice at the staff room door, the Harry and Rose being quietly pushed the door open a crack. The Rose half stared, getting a good look at something they probably were better off not seeing. Professor Snape and Filch were alone. Filch was handing Professor Snape bandages for his leg, which looked mangled and bloody.

"Blasted thing." Professor Snape said. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"

The Harry and Rose being's heart leapt. Professor Snape had been on the third floor that night after all. The Harry half tried to close the door quietly as the Rose half hurried off. Better if only one of them was caught, a wise precaution as Professor Snape suddenly shouted with a face twisted in rage, "POTTER!"

"I just wondered if I could have my book back." The Harry half said, their heart pounding hard with fear.

"GET OUT! OUT!" Professor Snape shouted furiously.

The Harry half left and ran to the Rose half, sprinting back to Gryffindor tower with a pounding heart. After they entered, Ron asked, "Did you get it? What's the matter?"

"Professor Snape's leg was bloody and mangled." The Harry and Rose being said in a low whisper. "He was talking about keeping eyes on all three heads at once, he's trying to get past that three headed dog we saw on the third floor corridor. He's after whatever it's guarding and I'd bet he let that troll in as a diversion."

"He wouldn't." Hermione said with wide eyes. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try to steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."

"Honestly Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something." Ron snapped. "I'm with Harry and Rose. I wouldn't put anything past Snape, but what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"

"Whatever was in vault 713." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Yeah, but what is it?" Ron asked.

The Harry and Rose being went to bed that night with the same questions on their mind. It was difficult for them to get to sleep, but as the Harry half ran his fingers through the Rose half's long hair, both relaxed at the familiar and comfortable motion, something they'd often done at the Dursley's when they had trouble sleeping.

November 9, 1991.

The great hall was bright, filled with the scent of fried sausages and the cheerful talking of the students looking forward to a good Quidditch match. The Harry and Rose being felt sick and quite nervous. In hours, the Harry half would be going to play Quidditch in front of hundreds of people. They clutched hands tightly and stared down at their empty plates.

"You've got to eat some breakfast." Hermione said to them.

"Not hungry." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I can't eat anything."

"Just a bit of toast." Hermione said. "You'll need your strength."

Swallowing, the Harry and Rose being reached out for some, hands shaking. Seamus then said, "Hermione's right. Seeker's are always the ones that get clobbered by the other team."

The toast the Harry and Rose being had taken a bite of seemed to turn to cardboard in their mouths. They swallowed, staring at each other and realizing their faces were green. They took deep breaths and tried to calm down, but it was useless.

At eleven o'clock, the team had changed into their uniforms in the locker room. Slytherin would be playing in green. Once the team was gathered together, Wood cleared his throat.

"Okay, men." He said.

"And women." Angelina Johnson said, who was a Chaser.

At the same time, the Rose half had joined Hermione and Ron in the stands. A banner was painted on a sheet Scabbers had ruined. The Rose half read Potter for President, spotting a drawing of a Gryffindor lion underneath. The paint flashed different colors and the Rose half smiled, the Harry and Rose being feeling a bit braver, heart skipping.

"Thanks for the support." She said. At the same time, Wood was speaking, continuing with his speech.

"And women, this is it."

"The big one." Fred Weasley added.

"The one we've all been waiting for." George continued.

"We know Oliver's speech by heart." Fred told the Harry half. "We were on the team last year."

"Besides, the big one would be the match for the Quidditch cup." The Harry half said hesitantly.

"Enough, you three." Wood said. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." He glared at them as if to tell them, or else, but or else what, the Harry and Rose being wondered as the crowd spoke among themselves.

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you." Wood continued.

The Harry half followed Fred and George from the locker room, focusing on standing without his knees giving way. The crowd cheered loudly, but the Rose half didn't join in. She simply looked down and focused her eyes on the Harry half and the Quidditch field.

Madam Hooch was the referee. She stood in the center of the field waiting for the two teams, broom in hand. Once they gathered around, she said, "Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you." She seemed to be speaking particularly to a sixth year named Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Captain.

"Mount your brooms, please." She said.

The Harry half did so along with everyone else, the Harry and Rose being anticipating flying the Nimbus Two Thousand again despite the nerve racking circumstances.

Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on a silver whistle she carried and all fifteen of them rose into the air. Just like that, the Harry and Rose being were swept up in the joy of flight, the Rose half watching the team and staring around for the snitch.

"Hey!" Hermione said, noticing what she was doing and giving her arm a light slap. "Close your eyes and let the Harry half do this, or don't look for the Snitch."

The Rose half gasped as the Harry and Rose being felt a swell of great joy. Turning, she grabbed Hermione in an embrace and said loud enough to be heard over the crowds and announcing, "Thank you, Hermione! You accept me!" She laughed and turned back to the team, focusing exclusively on the Harry half, but after a moment, started gazing around again, watching the other players.

Lee Jordan,, the friend of the Weasley twins, was announcing the match and being watched closely by Professor McGonagall. The Harry and Rose being listened and the Harry half flew around the field, eyes out for the snitch.

When Gryffindor scored, they cheered while the Slytherin's howled and moaned. The Harry and Rose being were getting over their nervousness now and were caught up in the joy of the match.

"What a bunch of whiners!" The Rose half shouted.

"Budge up there, move along." Hagrid's voice carried.

"Hagrid!" The Harry and Rose being shouted in joy, though the Harry half was too far away to be heard.

Ron, Hermione and the Rose half moved closer to give him enough room.

The Harry half was keeping out of sight of the rest of the team, part of the game plan Wood had devised. He had to dodge a Bludger, which Fred beat toward the Slytherin's after making sure he was doing well. So far, he hadn't seen anything that was the snitch.

"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan announced. "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasley's, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the, wait a moment was that the Snitch?"

The Harry half dove in a rush of excitement, having spotted the snitch. Terence Higgs, the Slytherin seeker, had also spotted it and was flying along side the Harry half. The Chasers were doing nothing and the Rose half was looking in front of the Harry half, eyes also on the snitch. The Harry half picked up speed and the Rose half gasped just before Marcus Flint slammed into the Harry half, sending him spinning wildly. The Rose half shouted, "Cheating Slytherin!"

"Foul!" The Gryffindors shouted at the same moment.

The Gryffindors got a free shot at the goal posts, but the snitch had disappeared in the confusion. Dean was shouting, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"

Football, of course, the Harry and Rose being thought as the Harry half flew up high again, the Harry and Rose being looking together for the snitch, no longer caring if it should be just the Harry half's job or not.

"Oh dear!" The Rose half cried some moments later as the Harry half's broom gave a mighty lurch. "The Harry half's in trouble!"

As the Harry half's broom bucked hard again, he struggled to turn it back toward the Gryffindor goal posts to ask for time out. His broom was completely out of his control, though. Lee was still announcing, but the cry of the Rose half caught Hermione's attention, the Harry and Rose being feeling terrified.

"Looks like he's lost control of his broom." Hagrid said. "But he can't have..."

"Let me see." Hermione said, grabbing Hagrid's binoculars and staring frantically at the crowd.

The Harry and Rose being gasped as everyone started pointing up at the Harry half all over the stands. His broom had lurched again and began rolling over and over, then it jerked violently, causing the Harry half to dangle from it with one hand. The Rose half stared on helplessly, the Harry and Rose being feeling a desperate, helpless fear, wishing the Rose half could do something to help the Harry half.

"I knew it, Snape!" Hermione said.

The Rose half grabbed the binoculars from Hermione and stared at him through them. Professor Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them, staring at the Harry half and muttering under his breath. Hagrid was saying something about nothing but powerful dark magic interfering with the broom, but the Rose half wasn't paying any attention, the Harry and Rose being more focused on the Harry half's circumstances.

"I knew it!" The Rose half shouted. "He wants the Harry half dead!"

"He wouldn'!" Hagrid said in a protesting manner as Hermione hurried off.

"See for yourself, he's doing something!" The Rose half cried, thrusting the binoculars into Hagrid's hands.

The broom was vibrating so hard that the Harry half could barely hang on. The Weasley twins were trying to fly up to grab him, but when they got closer, the broom jumped higher. The Rose half kept staring at the Harry half, who was struggling hard to hang on. Briefly, the Rose half glanced at the crowd again and barely spotted Hermione, then returned her gaze to the Harry half. Quite suddenly, he swung back on his broom and dove, the broom under his control again. The Harry and Rose being felt excited again, having spotted the snitch.

"Neville, look, look!" The Rose half shouted excitedly, pulling him from Hagrid's jacket, which he'd been sobbing into for the last few minutes.

Suddenly, the Harry and Rose being clapped their hands to their mouths and the Rose half swallowed, feeling something fluttering in the Harry half's mouth. The Rose half chuckled as the Harry half fell to the ground on all fours and stumbled to his feet, coughed, then something gold fell into his hand.

"I've got the snitch!" The Harry half shouted.

Flint was quite upset, moaning about how the Harry half hadn't caught it, but nearly swallowed it. It didn't matter, though, it still counted as the Harry half hadn't broken any rules. Privately, the Harry and Rose being never wanted to do that again. They didn't hear much of it clearly, though, as they were in Hagrid's hut with cups of strong tea in front of them.

"It was Professor Snape." The Harry and Rose being insisted. "I saw him."

"Rubbish." Hagrid said. "Why would Snape do something like tha'?"

The Harry and Rose being glanced at Ron and Hermione, who looked back at them.

"He's never liked me." The Harry and Rose being responded. "And besides, he tried to get past that three headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think it's trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped the tea pot in shock, then said, "How do you know about Fluffy?"

"You named that thing Fluffy?" The Harry and Rose being asked incredulously.

"Yeah, he's mine, bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year. I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the..." Hagrid stopped suddenly.

"Yes?" The Harry and Rose being eagerly prompted.

"Now don' ask me anymore, tha's top secret, tha' is." Hagrid said gruffly.

"But Snape's trying to steal it!" Ron cried.

"Rubbish." Hagrid replied. "Snape's a Hogwart's teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill the Harry half?" Hermione cried and the Harry and Rose being beamed while Ron looked at her strangely. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid said firmly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like tha', but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh! yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel!"

"Aha!" The Harry and Rose being said victoriously. "Thank you, Hagrid, you're wonderful!" The Rose half jumped up and embraced him. Hagrid simply looked furious.

"What was that about anyway, Hermione?" Ron asked later as the three of them walked up the marble stairs toward the Gryffindor common room.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"The Rose half?" Ron questioned.

"Oh, yes." She responded. "I was looking up information about Harry and Rose and the single soul bond they'd talked about before. I actually found it in a book called Truth and Legend, A History. It was labeled as something legendary but there was one known occurrence of this in the year 542 A.D. There wasn't much information, but given that Harry and Rose do everything together, never talk to each other, and don't ever disagree, I postulated it might be possible for them to actually have this single soul bond. It just seemed natural to treat them as such from that moment on. I really do think they're a single being, have a single soul."

"Hermione, you're wonderful." The Harry and Rose being said, each half putting an arm around her shoulders before lifting her from the ground. "I love you too!"

Hermione squealed and shouted, "Put me down!"

The Harry and Rose being and Ron laughed, the Harry and Rose being swinging Hermione with beaming faces of joy. The castle echoed with their laughter, and once again, they were glad to have friends who accepted them, feeling joy and delight. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Discovery of the Stone and the Hearts Desire

November 21, 1991.

The Harry half crept quietly into the boys first year dormitory as the Rose half crept into the girls. The full moon cast light through the windows and the Rose half quickly spotted Hermione. She moved to her and knelt as the Harry half reached Ron, shaking him awake. Ron blinked his eyes open and stared at the Harry half, who insistently pulled him up.

"What, Harry, what?" The Harry half heard Ron ask quietly.

The Harry and Rose being liked the scent of Hermione and the Rose half gently tapped her cheek, her skin cool to the touch. The Harry half helped Ron to stand at the same moment, he yawning and staring at him.

"Come." The Harry half whispered as the Rose half saw Hermione open her eyes.

She watched as Hermione's eyes widened in terror. Before she could scream, the Rose half clamped a hand over her mouth and forced her to look at her, staring into her eyes. The Harry and Rose being had told Hermione about the Rose half's transformation. Seeing it was different, but they wanted their friends with them. At the same time, Ron followed the Harry half, looking confused. Hermione calmed, though was trembling slightly. The Rose half removed her hands and stood, Hermione staring at her.

"Rose?" The Rose half heard her ask in a trembling whisper.

The Rose half very slowly reached out toward her and Hermione took her hand, hers much smaller and cooler. Gently, but insistently, she pulled Hermione up and she stood. The Harry and Rose being knew that Hermione was as fragile as the Harry half, so was very careful with her. The Rose half turned and started toward the door. Hermione stared and she turned around, pointing at the door. As confused as Ron, she followed, meting up with the Harry half and Ron in the common room.

"Hermione?" Ron asked in surprise, keeping his voice down.

"Ron! Harry!" Hermione said in surprise.

The Harry and Rose being smiled and the Rose half moved toward Ron, who backed away in slight fear.

"Never hurt." The Harry half whispered to Ron. "Gentle."

The Rose half reached out and very gently touched Ron's shoulder, enjoying his scent also. She gently moved him toward Hermione, who had made her way over to a seat. The four of them sat down on a couch and the Rose half looked from Ron on her right to Hermione on her left, the Harry half on the left side of Hermione, who was staring at the Rose half in fascination.

"Stay." The Harry and Rose being whispered. "With me."

"We've got potions tomorrow, Mate." Ron said, then chuckled. "Imagine if Snape saw this."

The Harry and Rose being silently snarled at the thought of Professor Snape and Hermione shoved herself back into the couch.

"No." The Rose half said, gently touching Hermione, who stared at her hand with her long, lethal nails. Gently, Hermione touched them and the Harry and Rose being watched with slight smiles. This was the first time they'd been content on the full moon, and one of the very few times they'd said anything also.

"Gentle Hermione, Ron." The Harry and Rose being said, then gently rose Hermione's hand to the Rose half's hair, turning to face Ron as the Harry half moved to stand behind the couch, running Hermione's fingers gently through the Rose half's hair.

Hermione smiled softly and the Rose half rested her chin on Ron's shoulder, patting his head. Ron looked a little awkward, but reached up and did the same. The Harry and Rose being sighed in pure contentment. They were with their friends. Before they knew it, they fell asleep, the Harry half curled in the Rose half's lap, her hands resting on his face.

Hermione shook the Rose half awake the next morning, also looking tired. The Harry half woke with her as always and scrambled to the floor. The Rose half hugged Hermione, then shook Ron awake before standing and gazing at both of them, then up at the clock.

"Thank you." The Harry and Rose being said. "I liked it."

"Why do you change like that?" Hermione asked as she looked at both of them. "I've never heard of this before but it's really fascinating."

The Harry and Rose being smiled and said, "I'm not entirely sure. We need to get ready for classes."

"Right." Hermione said. "And Harry and Rose being, it was nice, but a little scary. I thought you were someone that was going to kidnap me, Rose."

"No." The Harry and Rose being said. "It calmed my rage, made me content this time. Can we do this again?"

"I'm up for it, I suppose." Ron said.

"Me too." Hermione replied with a smile.

Ron and Hermione moved to their dormitories, the Harry and Rose being moving to their room outside the Gryffindor common room. They were glad for the new routine and hoped they could get together every full moon night. It was pleasant with their friends.

December 20, 1991.

December was even colder than November, with the castle covered in several feet of snow, the lake frozen solid. It was nice and warm in bed and the Gryffindor common room, but everywhere else was cold. The worst was professor Snape's classroom where everyone did their best to remain close to their hot cauldrons. The Rose half was less effected by the cold than the Harry half, and due to her higher body temperature, could and did help warm his hands at times.

The Harry and Rose being concentrated firmly on preparing their potion properly. It was one day before the full moon and their anger, as it always was, was at the surface of their mind. Their hands were steady as they worked, though, faces expressionless and eyes filled with emotion. Draco Malfoy's voice echoed across the dungeon as he spoke.

"I do feel so sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts because they aren't wanted at home."

The Harry and Rose being pinned him with a glare as he looked at them and Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Hermione's voice was loud enough for the Harry and Rose being to hear, but no one else.

"Ignore him, what he said doesn't matter."

The Harry and Rose being looked sharply down at their potion and gripped their measuring cups a little tighter, hands trembling from their anger. Malfoy had been more unpleasant since the Harry half's victory at the Gryffindor Quidditch match, though his efforts to insult them ultimately ended in failure. It took almost everything the Harry and Rose being had to stop them self from knocking Malfoy out. As they thought about Malfoy's insults, they realized he was simply repeating the same ones over and over. The variation in wording might have been different, but the meaning was the same. Much of their anger faded at that and they quietly chuckled a little.

"No creativity at all." The Harry and Rose being whispered quietly to them self.

The Harry and Rose being weren't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas, as they'd signed up when Professor McGonagall had come around with a list of those who were staying for the holidays. They didn't regret it, and more than likely, it would be the best Christmas they'd ever had. Ron and his brother's were also staying, since their parents were going to Romania to visit Charlie.

After exiting the dungeons, a large fir tree could be found blocking the way, nearly filling up the corridor completely. The feet sticking out of the bottom along with the huffing announced Hagrid's presents behind it.

"Hi, Hagrid. Want any help?" Ron asked as he stuck his head through the branches.

"I'm certain he does, Weasley." Malfoy's drawling voice said behind them, the Harry and Rose being turning to face him. "After all, it's the only way you'll earn any extra money for yourself. Trying to be the gamekeeper's assistant, or perhaps be the gamekeeper once you leave Hogwarts? I suppose that hut of Hagrid's seems like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

"You have no creativity, do you?" The Harry half asked as the Rose half grabbed Ron, stopping him. "Poor family this, family doesn't want you that, you should think of something else for once. Such as this, perhaps. You're such a spoiled little baby that I'm surprised you've made it this far in Hogwarts on your own. Oh, wait, you haven't, you've had your troll's Crabbe and Goyle to keep that spoiled attitude of yours up, My, spoiled you really are, I can smell it from here, Malfoy. Take a shower!"

"Five points from Gryffindor, Potter's." Professor Snape stated in a low and unpleasant tone, coming up the stares behind Malfoy and his friends. "I suggest you avoid such insulting in the future."

"Yes, since you're such a fine example of how to insult so well with such subtlety." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly.

"That will be ten more points from Gryffindor, Potter's, and be grateful it isn't more and that I am feeling generous enough to wave the detention. I will not be so generous in the future. Move along, all of you." Professor Snape stated.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle shoved past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking. The Harry and Rose being spun, trembling with anger. Silently, they passed the tree carefully and quickly stormed off toward the great hall.

The decorations took their mind off things, and within a few minutes, Hagrid had entered along with Ron, Hermione and a few others. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were busy with the decorations, and as Hagrid entered, Professor McGonagall said, "Ah, Hagrid, the last tree, put it in the far corner, would you?"

Hagrid did so, making the trees around the great hall number twelve. Once he finished, he asked, "How many days until yer holidays?"

"Just one." Hermione replied. "Which reminds me, we've only got a half hour before lunch. We should be in the library."

"Right." Ron replied, tearing his eyes from Professor Flitwick.

"The library?" Hagrid asked as he followed them from the great hall, the Harry and Rose being trying to remember where they'd seen the name Nicolas Flamel before. "Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"We're not working, we're trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is." The Harry and Rose being said tersely.

"You what?" Hagrid asked in shock. "Listen here I've told yeh, drop it. It's nothin' to yeh what tha' dog's guardin'."

"We just want to know who he is, that's all." Hermione responded.

"You could tell us and save us the trouble." The Harry and Rose being said. "A hint maybe, I've read it somewhere before I know I have."

"I'm sayin' nothin'." Hagrid replied.

"We'll just find out for ourselves then." Ron responded and they moved off to the Library leaving Hagrid looking disgruntled.

The Harry half wandered over to the restricted section of the library, considering. They had wondered if Flamel wasn't in there, though it wasn't likely they'd find out any time soon. They didn't know anyone who would sign a note for them to let them in. Madam Pince, the librarian, came over with a feather duster in her hand.

"What are you looking for, boy?" She asked.

It couldn't hurt, the Harry and Rose being thought. Snape wasn't near enough to overhear. Aside from that, the Harry and Rose being were getting rather impatient, which was more powerful than it normally would be due to the full moon being close.

"Information on Nicolas Flamel." He responded, though leaned closer just in case Professor Snape was there to overhear, though the Harry and Rose being didn't believe he was.

"You might ask Ms. Granger." Madam Pince responded. "She checked out a book referencing him. He worked with Dumbledore, you know."

Excitement overcame the Harry and Rose being and the Harry half snapped his fingers, saying quietly, "Thanks." He then hurried from the library as the Rose half said, "Hermione, we found it I think, the Harry half's going to look."

"What, you found Flamel?" Hermione asked.

"I think so." The Rose half responded. "I'm trying to remember, Madam Pince just said he worked with Dumbledore."

"We agreed not to ask her!" Hermione hissed.

"And I'm getting tired of not knowing." The Rose half replied with a sharp frown, then Ron spoke.

"Did he work with Dumbledore on alchemy?" He asked.

Hermione stared, her mouth open slightly.

"What?" Ron asked. "It's on Dumbledore's chocolate frog card."

"That's it!" The Rose half grabbed Ron and kissed him on the cheek, then ran from the library with Hermione, Ron following and looking quite bewildered.

"What!" He called.

"I can't believe it!" Hermione shouted back. "Come on, quick! I've got to check something!"

The Harry half clambered through the portrait hole, closely followed by the Rose half, Ron, and Hermione, who hurried up the girls staircase. She returned after a moment with an enormous old book in her arms.

"Alchemy you said?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being confirmed excitedly.

"I never thought it could possibly..." Hermione muttered as she started flipping through the pages. "I got this for some light reading, I didn't think it would be in here."

"Light?" Ron asked.

"Shh." Hermione said.

After about a minute, Hermione left the book open on a page and whispered dramatically, "There it is! Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!"

"The what?" Ron asked, dumfounded.

"Oh, honestly, don't you three read?" Hermione asked, pushing the book toward them. "Look there."

The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.

There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).

"Sounds like that's what the dog's guarding." The Harry and Rose being said with a slight grin, though mostly felt angry at them self for not remembering. "Wish I'd have come up with that sooner, I had it right there in front of my face the hole time."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Hermione responded gently. "It was an honest mistake. Even I could have made it."

The Harry and Rose being chuckled, then said, "Yes, even Hermione, the fountain of all knowledge."

Hermione let out a huff, though despite having found Flamel, there was still quite a bit they didn't know.

December 25, 1991.

The Harry and Rose being blinked and rubbed their eyes Christmas morning, stared, shook their heads and scrambled from the bed, putting on their bathrobes and feeling shocked. They shook their heads again as they looked at the pile of gifts at the foot of their bed, something they'd never before received. The Rose half scooped most of them into her arms and the Harry half grabbed the others. Calmly, they left their room and entered the Gryffindor common room, then proceeded to the dormitories. They entered to see Ron waking and smiled.

"Thought we could open ours together." The Harry and Rose being said. "It's hard for me to believe I've got presents. I've never gotten presents before."

"What did you expect?" Ron asked.

"The Dursley's usually wouldn't give me anything on Christmas but something they didn't want." The Harry and Rose being responded, then grinned and sat on what was Neville's bed, their presents around them.

The Harry and Rose being opened their first gift, which was from Hagrid to Harry. It was a roughly cut wooden flute. Curious, the Harry half rose it to his lips and blew into it. It sounded almost like an owl.

A second package was rather small and it contained a note.

We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.

"This is nice of them." The Harry and Rose being said, pulling a fifty-pence piece off the note. "Here, Ron, have a look."

He took it from the Rose half, who was closer and stared at it.

"Weird. This is Muggle money?" He asked.

"Yeah." The Harry and Rose said with an amused grin. "You can keep it if you want it."

"Who sent that one?" Ron pointed to the flute.

"Hagrid did." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"I think I know who those are from." Ron said, turning a little pink. He pointed to two rather lumpy packages. "My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."

The Harry and Rose being had torn open their packages to find thick, hand-knitted sweaters in emerald green along with boxes of homemade fudge. Finding a letter H on the one the Rose half held and a letter R on the one the Harry half had, they swapped and pulled them on with a grin.

"Every year she makes us a sweater and mine's always maroon." Ron said as he unwrapped his.

That's really nice of her." The Harry and Rose being said, trying the fudge. "And this is good too, I'll have to thank her."

Another package was from Hagrid, with a card taped to it.

Merry Christmas Rose, thought you'd like these, picked them from the garden, they're magical ice roses. Hagrid.

Tearing it open, the Harry and Rose being gazed at what looked like roses. They glittered and the Rose half reached out, touching them carefully. They were covered in frost. There wasn't a scent that they could smell, but the gift was nice all the same. They looked to be packed in ice, which seemed natural if they were ice roses.

"Wow, cool." Ron said as he stared at them.

The next gift was from Hermione. To their delight, she'd addressed it to Harry and Rose Potter. They tore it open to find a box of chocolate frogs, grinning.

Only one more package was left. The Harry half picked it up and felt it. Clothes again, they thought. It was certainly light enough to be clothing of some kind.

After unwrapping it, something fluid and silvery gray fell to the floor in neat folds. Ron, who was looking over, gasped.

"I've heard of those." He said in a hushed voice, dropping a box of something he'd received from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is they're really rare and really valuable."

"What is it?" The Harry and Rose being asked as the Harry half carefully picked it up. It felt like water woven into material and felt quite strange.

"It's an invisibility cloak." Ron replied with awe in his voice and on his face. "I'm sure it is, try it on."

The Harry half swung the cloak around his shoulders as the Rose half gazed on eagerly. They gasped and Ron let out a yell.

"Oh, wow!" The Harry and Rose being said, then the Harry half pulled the hood over his head and stood, completely invisible.

"A note fell out of it." Ron said suddenly.

The Harry half pulled the cloak off and the Rose half put it under her robe as the Harry half grabbed the note and gazed at the narrow, loopy writing.

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you.  
Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you.

"I wonder who sent it." The Harry and Rose being said. "No signature."

"I'd give anything for one of these." Ron said. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The Harry and Rose being responded, blinking tears from their eyes and carefully picking up their packages. "The father of the Harry half owned this cloak." The Harry and Rose being took deep breaths, overwhelmed with emotion. After a moment, they managed to calm down.

"Oh, wow." Ron replied.

The dormitory door was flung open and the Harry and Rose being stood, clutching packages to their chests.

"Merry Christmas!" Fred and George Weasley said together.

"Hey look, Harry and Rose have Weasley sweaters too!" George added.

The Harry and Rose being gazed at Fred and George, who both wore blue sweaters, one with a letter F, the other with a G.

"Both of yours are better than ours." Fred added. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George asked. "Come on, get it on. They're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon." Ron moaned in a half hearted manner as he pulled it on.

"You should be glad, grateful for it." The Harry and Rose being said. "I'd give anything to have a family like yours, Ron."

"They're right." Fred said. "Harry and Rose, they've got the right idea." Fred and George clapped them on the shoulders with matching grins.

"At least people can tell the two of you apart now." The Harry and Rose being said.

"That's right." George added brightly. "We're not stupid, we know we're called Gred and Forge."

"What's all this noise?" Percy asked disapprovingly as he put his head through the doorway. He also carried a lumpy sweater over his arm which Fred grabbed.

"P for prefect!" He said. "Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."

"I don't want..." Percy began as the twins pulled it over his head, knocking his glasses askew and pinning his arms to his sides.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either." George said. "Christmas is a time for family."

As Percy was marched from the room, the Harry and Rose being chuckled at the antics of the twins, then took their packages to their room and placed them on a desk they shared, accept for the invisibility cloak which they placed carefully under the pillow. The day was quite fun, involving snow fights and having a good time with Ron and the other Weasley's, all but Percy, who was one for the rules and regulations, perhaps a bit too much.

The Christmas dinner was quite an experience, too. Mountains of food, which they'd come to expect at Hogwarts, were on the table. Stacks of wizard crackers were every few feet. The Harry and Rose being pulled one that went off with a blast like a cannon. The Harry and Rose being whooped with laughter and as the smoke cleared, saw a rear admiral's hat and several live white mice.

"Come here you cutis!" The Rose half said with a wild grin, grabbing for them as they moved, the Harry and Rose being feeling pure joy and delight.

At the high table, Professor Dumbledore had switched his wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet and chuckling. The Harry and Rose being enjoyed the desserts as much as the meal, and when they left the table, had quite a bit of things from the crackers including a wizard chess set. Wizard's chess, unlike the chess Muggle's played, had live figures which tried to give advice and moved where they were directed. It was fascinating to play with Ron, who trounced them, though they didn't mind. The white mice were nowhere to be found and the Harry and Rose being idly commented, "Those will probably be dinner for the kitty Mrs. Norris."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Oh, nothing." The Harry and Rose being said with a grin.

The evening was filled with yet another snowball fight on the grounds, then a chess game with Ron which Percy tried to help the Harry half with. He still lost but the game was quite good anyway. After yet another meal, everyone was tired and sleepy, watching Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

All the while, the thought of the cloak and whoever had sent it was at the back of their minds. Finally, having returned to their room, they pulled it from under the pillow and stared at it, the Rose half letting the cool material flow through her fingers. This had been the Harry half's father's cloak. Use it well, the note had said.

Heart pounding with excitement, the Harry half put it on as the Rose half watched him vanish, then reached forward and touched him, her hands appearing to be grasping at nothing but air. With a grin, the Harry and Rose being walked to a window that let them see the outside, then the Harry half pulled the cloak open and the Rose half moved under it with him. It draped over both of them and they grasped hands, feeling wide awake. Hogwarts was completely open to them and Filch would never know they'd gone anywhere. Quietly, they crept from their room and moved down the corridor. They would go to the library first, the Harry and Rose being decided. While they already knew something about Nicolas Flamel, it couldn't hurt to try and get more information, and aside from that, they felt sheer curiosity about the restricted section. Also, they'd always wanted to explore, now they could do so without being found.

The Harry and Rose being watched a lamp floating in the Rose half's invisible hand. It looked rather creepy, but it lit the library enough for them to see where they were going. Carefully, they moved through the dark library toward the restricted section, heart pounding. When they reached it, they carefully stepped over the rope leading to it, holding the lamp higher to read the titles.

They didn't tell them much. The letters were pealing and faded, written in languages they couldn't understand. Some books had no titles at all. One of the books had a dark stain that looked like blood. The hairs on the Harry and Rose being's necks were prickling and they felt goose bumps on their arms. They thought they could hear faint whispers from the books, as if they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.

They would try one book and leave, they decided. If they didn't get any information about anything interesting, then so be it. Setting the lamp carefully down, the Harry and Rose being looked along the bottom shelf and found a large black and silver volume. The Rose half pulled it out easily and placed it on her knee, the Harry half reaching over and opening it.

A shriek loud enough to hurt the Rose half's sensitive ears came from the book and she slammed it shut, heart pounding. The book fell to the floor and the Harry half stumbled, knocking over the lamp. The Rose half grabbed him and they stood completely still as footsteps started to approach, then quietly but quickly moved off. They passed Filch, who was looking wildly into the library, then streaked up the corridor, the shrieks of the book still ringing in their ears. After a minute or so, they stopped in front of a tall suit of armor, not recognizing their location at all.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library, Restricted Section." Filch's voice was heard in the silence.

The Harry and Rose being gulped. Filch seemed to be getting closer.

"The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them." Professor Snape responded.

The Harry and Rose being gripped trembling hands tightly, staring as Professor Snape and Filch rounded the corner and began walking nearer. The corridor was narrow and the cloak didn't stop them from being solid. Carefully, the Harry and Rose being backed toward a door that was open a little, the Rose half's back pressed to the doorway as she squeezed in next to the Harry half. To their relief, the Professor's noticed nothing, passing them without stopping.

The Harry and Rose being calmed and stared around the room they'd taken refuge in. It looked like a classroom of sorts, though abandoned. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls along with an upturned trash can. Facing them was something that seemed not to belong, as if placed there to stay out of the way.

The Harry and Rose being moved closer. It was a mirror as high as the ceiling with an ornate gold frame. It stood on two clawed feet with an inscription carved around the top. The Harry and Rose being read it.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

"Erised." The Harry and Rose being whispered to them self as they moved closer to the mirror, gazing into it.

Almost immediately, the Harry and Rose being stared behind them, completely startled. They had seen them self in the mirror along with a whole crowd of people behind them. The room was empty. Trembling, the Harry and Rose being looked back at the mirror and stared, trying to take more detail in.

The Harry and Rose being saw them self reflected in the mirror, faces scared looking. Behind them were about ten, twenty other people. Carefully, the Rose half swept her hand through the empty air to determine that no one was there behind them. They kept staring at the people who existed in the mirror alone.

Two women were behind them, one behind the Harry half and the other behind the Rose half. They moved closer. The woman behind the Harry half had his eyes and was very pretty. The one behind the Rose half almost had her eyes, though hers were a lighter blue. The woman behind the Harry half had red hair and the one behind the Rose half had her black hair. They were smiling, but crying at the same time. Beside the red haired woman was a tall, thin black-haired man who's hair was messy just like the Harry half. In fact, he looked quite similar to the Harry half. Next to the woman behind the Rose half stood another man who was also tall. His hair was black as well and his gray eyes looked out at her. The Harry and Rose being stared between the two men and the women, then came to the only conclusion. These were their parents. A mixture of anger, sadness and longing twisted their insides as they stared at the Potter's and Black's, though there were more of them than just their parents. There were people who had the Harry half's same nose, the Rose half's high, aristocratic cheek bones, the Harry half's green eyes, the Rose half's long legs and shoulders. By now, they were so close their noses almost touched the mirror.

"Mom, dad?" The Harry and Rose being whispered quietly.

Their parents, their family, smiled at them. Hot tears rolled down the Harry and Rose being's faces and they pressed their hands to the glass. Despite the hot anger they had toward Black, they wanted to see the rest of them, desperately wanted to sink through the mirror and go to their family. The mirror remained solid, though. Silently, they cried and stood there, staring until a distant noise brought them back to their senses. They ripped their eyes from the mirror as they whispered, "I'll be back." Slowly, they turned, moving from the room and finding their way back to theirs. They carefully observed where they were going, remembering where the room was and how to get back.

"You could have woken me up." Ron said to them, sounding rather cross.

"You can come tonight. I'm going back and I know where it is. I want to show you the mirror." The Harry and Rose being said.

"I'd love to see your mom and dad." Ron responded eagerly.

"And I'd like to see the rest of your family." The Harry and Rose being responded with a smile. "You'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone else."

"You can see them any old time. Just come round my house this summer." Ron said. "Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"

Nothing else was more important than returning to the mirror to see their parents. Who cared if the Sorcerer's Stone was stolen by Professor Snape? It wouldn't effect them any.

"Are you all right?" Ron asked. "You look odd."

"Yeah, fine." The Harry and Rose being said.

It was only the Harry half who went with Ron that night, since he was smaller and it wouldn't do to try and fit the three of them under the cloak. Confidently, the Harry half took Ron through the corridors, to the suit of armor, and into the class room before throwing off the cloak and running to the mirror.

"Here it is!" The Harry half said with eager excitement, staring into the mirror at his family, at the family of the Rose half. "See?"

"I can't see anything." Ron said as the Harry and Rose being noted that, despite only the Harry half being there, the Rose half was also in the reflection, just as she'd been before. It was somewhat strange, but they delighted in the natural reflection the mirror gave them.

"Look!" The Harry half replied. Both of them were speaking in low voices. "There's all of them, even..." The Harry half spoke with slight bitterness, "Black." He added with excitement, "But the rest of them..."

"I can only see you." Ron said, bewildered.

"Look in it properly, go on. Stand where I am." The Harry half invited, stepping aside.

The Harry half stepped aside and only spotted Ron's reflection. Ron, however, stared, transfixed as the Harry and Rose being had been.

"Look at me!" He said in awe.

"Can you see all your family standing with you?" The Harry half asked.

"No... I'm alone, but I'm different... I look older, and I'm head boy!" Ron responded.

"What?" The Harry half asked, the Harry and Rose being confused.

"I am... I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to, and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup... I'm Quidditch captain, too!" Ron tore his eyes away to look at the Harry half, excited. "Do you think this mirror shows the future?"

"No, my parents are dead." The Harry half replied longingly. "Let me have another look."

"You've had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time." Ron responded.

Hot rage tore through the Harry and Rose being and the Harry half grabbed Ron, yanking him close.

"You don't understand what it's like to see your family, now let me look!" The Harry half said, raising his voice and glaring furiously.

Since it was still within a week of the full moon, their anger could manifest, though it was much less common now than it was on the days closer to the full moon. With Ron threatening what they had, the Harry and Rose being knew they had to defend it.

"Don't push me!" Ron said to the Harry half, also sounding angry.

A sudden noise outside put an end to their argument. The Harry half frantically grabbed the cloak and threw it around them, both he and Ron staring at the door. Mrs. Norris came through and the Harry and Rose being wondered if the cloak worked on cats. After what seemed to be a long time, the cat left.

"This isn't safe, bet she's gone for Filch. Come on." Ron whispered, pulling the Harry half out of the room.

"Want to play some chess?" Ron asked the next day.

"No." The Harry and Rose being replied, their thoughts dwelling on their parents. Tonight, they would return.

"Why don't we go and visit Hagrid?" Ron asked.

"No, you go." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"You're thinking about that mirror aren't you?" Ron asked knowingly. "Don't go back tonight."

"And why not?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it, and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?" Ron asked.

"You sound just like Hermione." The Harry and Rose being shot back coolly. "Drop it, Ron."

"No." Ron responded, looking bravely at them. "I'm serious, don't go."

"I'll do what I want, Ron, leave me be about it." The Harry and Rose being said with irritation.

"Okay..." Ron trailed off, then looked down with a sigh.

Nothing would stop them. The Harry and Rose being probably made more sound than was wise, but they didn't care. They moved into the room and there they were, smiling and waving at them. Their family. They sat down to stare at the mirror, gazing into it and feeling the familiar twist of emotions, anger at Black, the trader, a deep sadness and longing to be with them. They stared hungrily, tears in their eyes, desperately wishing to join them.

"Back again, Harry and Rose?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

The Harry and Rose being glanced back at Professor Dumbledore, feeling as if their insides had turned to ice. They swallowed hard.

"I... I didn't see you, sir." The Harry and Rose being said, then swallowed again.

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you, isn't it?" Professor Dumbledore said, smiling. The Harry and Rose being sighed with relief, and to their surprise, he slid off the desk and sat with them.

"So." He added. "You, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the mirror of Erised."

"The inscription?" The Harry and Rose being guessed.

"Quite right." Professor Dumbledore responded. "Given that, I assume by now you know what it does."

"It shows me my family." The Harry and Rose being responded. "And Ron being head boy."

"Indeed true, as well as having that which none of his brothers did. Isn't that right, Harry and Rose?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"How did you know?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible." Dumbledore replied. "Now, can you think what the mirror of Erised shows us all?"

The Harry and Rose being glanced at the mirror for a moment.

"No, sir." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Let me explain." Dumbledore said. "The happiest man on earth would be able to use the mirror of Erised as a normal mirror. That is, he would see himself within it, just as any ordinary mirror would show. Does that help?"

"It shows us what we want, whatever we want." The Harry and Rose being responded in a thoughtful voice.

"Yes and no." Professor Dumbledore responded. "It will, in fact, show you what you want. But it isn't you who consciously controls the image shown. The mirror of Erised will show us the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing before you. Ronald Weasley, always overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of them all. However, this mirror gives neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or driven mad not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible. If you require any further explanation, I suggest you look more closely at the inscription."

The Rose half stood and stared at it. The words were backwards and not spaced quite right, but they thought about it for a few seconds in silence.

"I show not your face but your hearts desire." The Harry and Rose being said. "Erised, that's desire backward."

"Indeed." Professor Dumbledore said as the Rose half sat down. "The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry. I ask that you not look for it again, but should you come across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. Remember that, Harry and Rose. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and head off to bed."

The Harry and Rose being stood.

"Sir... Professor Dumbledore, can I ask you something?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Obviously, you've just done so." Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks." Professor Dumbledore responded. The Harry and Rose being stared. "One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas come and gone, and no one gets me a single pair. People insist on giving me books."

"Sir?" The Harry and Rose being said.

"No more questions for tonight." Professor Dumbledore said gently as he stood. "Remember what I have said, Harry and Rose."

"Yes, sir." The Harry and Rose being responded, put the cloak on, then walked from the room and didn't look back.

As they headed through the corridors, they wondered if Professor Dumbledore had been entirely truthful when he'd told them what he saw in the mirror. Perhaps not, though the question had been rather personal. As they entered their room and lay down to sleep, they thought again of Black. From the mirror, they knew what Sirius Black looked like, but wondered if he was the trader they believed he was. Their mind strayed to their conversation with Professor McGonagall near the beginning of the school year, how she'd stated a trial wasn't necessary. The evidence was enough, she'd said, but they felt that was somehow wrong.

"I wonder, are you really the trader, Sirius Black?" The Harry and Rose being asked, closing their eyes. It was some time before they fell asleep. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Nightmares, Conspiracies, and the Forbidden Forest

"Report, my faithful servant." A high, cold voice said.

The room was in shadow and two faceless people spoke.

"I have found them, my lord. The fools have trusted me." A low voice responded in an eager tone.

"Very good, Black, very, very good." The high, cold voice laughed.

"No!" The location changed, a busy city street. "How could you do it!"

"It was you, Black! You betrayed the Potter's, don't deny it!"

"Peter, you imposter, you took my place! Posed as me! How dare you!"

"They won't remember that, will they, Black?" The voice changed to a higher and colder one. "You betrayed the Potters! How could you!" The street exploded, leaving a severed finger, twelve people, and Sirius Black, who shouted out in terrible grief. Behind him, the Harry half's parents stood and a high, cold laugh proceeded a bright flash of green light.

The Harry and Rose being shot straight up in bed, heart pounding. They breathed hard after the nightmare they'd just experienced and clutched hands, struggling to calm them self. It wasn't real, of course, but that didn't lessen the effect it had on them. Shaking slightly, the Harry and Rose being lay back down and struggled to return to sleep, though their sleep was somewhat restless.

"You see, Dumbledore was right." Ron said to the Harry and Rose being after they told him about the dreams they'd been having. "That mirror could drive you mad."

"Ron's right." Hermione added, having come back the day before term began. "And so was Professor Dumbledore. Try and put it behind you."

"Easier said than done." The Harry and Rose being responded.

In fact, it turned out to be easier than the Harry and Rose being had thought. Quidditch practice kept their mind off the mirror, the joy of flying taking away the fear of the nightmares. Wood trained them in the endless rain that seemed to have taken the place of the snow, which didn't seem to dampen the twins spirits any. The Weasley's were complaining that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but was glad for the distraction. They were also on his side. If they could beat Hufflepuff, the Quidditch cup would be theirs as long as they beat Slytherin, that was.

During a particularly wet and muddy practice session, the Weasley twins had been pretending to fall off their brooms. Wood wasn't too happy about that, and ended up delivering the bad news angrily.

"Will you stop messing around!" He shouted. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George Weasley really did fall off his broom at that, and the Harry and Rose being's heart plummeted. Professor Snape had tried to kill them during the last match, nothing said he wouldn't try and do it again.

"What's the matter with you two?" Ron asked as the Harry and Rose being entered the common room, the Rose half having continued their homework until the Harry half arrived from his Quidditch practice.

"Professor Snape's going to be the referee in the next match." The Harry and Rose being said in a voice only loud enough for Ron and Hermione to hear.

"Don't play." Hermione said immediately.

"Say you're ill." Ron added.

"Pretend to break your leg." Hermione suggested.

"Really break your leg." Ron stated.

"There isn't a reserve seeker." The Harry and Rose being said. "If I back out..."

"There is, the Rose half." Hermione said in a whisper.

"Oh, right." The Harry and Rose being said. "Well, I don't have a good excuse anyway."

"Don't have a good excuse, what do you mean? Sure you do." Ron responded.

Before he could say anything else, Neville toppled into the common room, his legs locked together. Everyone fell over and started laughing accept Hermione, who immediately performed the counter curse.

"What happened?" She asked, leading him to sit with Ron and the Harry and Rose being.

"Malfoy." Neville responded in a shaky voice. "Met him outside the library."

"Go to Professor McGonagall." Hermione replied. "Report him."

Neville shook his head.

"I don't want more trouble." He mumbled quietly.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville. He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier." Ron said.

"There's no reason to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor." Neville choked out. "Malfoy's already done that."

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy." The Rose half said, pulling a chocolate frog from her robes and giving it to Neville, who looked like he was about to cry. She patted his hand and said, "Go on, it'll make you feel better."

"Thanks." Neville responded, looking a little more cheerful as he unwrapped it. "I think I'll go to bed... Want the card, you collect them don't you?"

"Sure. Thanks." The Harry and Rose being said, the Rose half taking it from him before she hugged him and patted his back.

"Sleep well, Neville, and don't you listen to Malfoy. He's not worth it." She said.

As Neville went up to his dormitory, the Harry and Rose being gazed down at the picture of Dumbledore, flipped the card over, then gazed at the back.

"Here, Hermione." The Harry and Rose being said with a smile. "This is where I'd found him before."

Hermione took the card, read it, then smiled.

"Glad we managed to find that before Christmas." She remarked.

As the Quidditch match drew nearer, the Harry and Rose being grew more nervous. What would Professor Snape try to do to kill the Harry half this time? There was also the matter of Professor Snape himself. He was obviously quite biased. Chances of winning the Quidditch cup didn't seem too close with someone like him refereeing.

Perhaps it was their imagination, perhaps not. Whatever the reason, it seemed Professor Snape was running into the Harry and Rose being more often. He even seemed to be treating them more horribly than ever and they wondered if he knew that they'd found out about the stone. At times, it almost seemed he could read minds.

The Harry half hardly heard any of Wood's speech before the Quidditch match and the Rose half found a place to sit with Neville, Hermione and Ron having joined them. Neville didn't know why they looked grim or why they'd brought their wands to the match.

Wood pulled the Harry half aside and said, "If there's ever a time to catch the Snitch quickly it's now, before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."

"The whole school's out there!" The Harry half heard Fred say. "Even Dumbledore's come to watch!"

"Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore's here, look!" The Rose half said as the Harry and Rose being's heart leapt. With him around, Professor Snape wouldn't dare try anything. They looked and grinned.

No doubt, that was why Professor Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched on to the field. As they took off, Ron said beside the Rose half, "I've never seen him look so mean, ouch!"

The Rose half turned, spotting Malfoy, who had poked Ron in the back of the head.

"Oh, it's you!" The Rose half said in a falsely cheerful voice with a grin on her face, reveling in the joy of flight as the Harry half gazed around for the snitch.

"Oh, sorry Weasley. Didn't see you there." He drawled.

Crabbe and Goyle grinned.

"I wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time. Want to bet, Weasley?" Malfoy asked.

"I'll bet he'll stay on his broom the entire match. You see, he can actually grip his correctly unlike you, who's been doing it wrong for years." The Rose half responded with a chuckle.

"That's not what happened last time, now is it?" Malfoy asked.

"Because it wasn't under his control for a time, that's all." The Rose half replied.

"Everyone knows you're simply trying to defend your little boyfriend." Malfoy scoffed. "Give it up, Potter."

"I'm just defending myself, Malfoy." The Rose half said as the Harry half circled, looking out for the Snitch.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" Malfoy said loudly a few minutes later as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no apparent reason. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasley's, who've got no money, you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Neville turned bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," He stammered.

"You tell him, Neville." The Rose half said with a wide grin.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something." Malfoy added contemptuously.

"I'm warning you Malfoy, one wore word." Ron stated coldly.

"Ron, Harry!" Hermione and the Rose half said at the same moment.

"Look there!" The Rose half directed, the Harry half having gone into a dive.

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" Malfoy called.

Ron was on top of him before he knew it, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated before clambering over the back of his seat to help. The Rose half kept her eyes on the Harry half as the Harry and Rose being felt joy for Neville, standing up for himself, and for the soon end to the Quidditch match.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione shouted as she leapt on to her seat to watch the Harry half, who was speeding directly for Professor Snape who turned at the last moment to see something shoot past him. The Harry half rose his fist into the air in triumph moments later, snitch in hand.

"Yes!" The Harry and Rose being shouted. "We won!"

Hermione and the Rose half hugged and danced up and down on their seats in victory. The Snitch had never been caught quite so quickly before.

Professor Snape's face was white and his lips were pressed tightly together, the Harry half noted as he jumped from his broom. Moments later, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and gazed over at Professor Dumbledore, who was smiling.

"Well done." Professor Dumbledore spoke in a voice so quiet only the Harry half could hear him. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror, been keeping busy, excellent..."

Some time after everyone had left, the Harry half left the locker room to take his broom back to the shed. The Rose half watched him from the stands, hurrying down to join him. They remembered the last hour as the Harry half walked toward the broom shed, Gryffindors raising him on to their shoulders, Ron and Hermione jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed, Neville with several bruises of his own. In what seemed like moments, the Harry and Rose being were at the broom shed, leaning against the doors and gazing up at Hogwarts. Its windows were glowing red in the sunset, and someone was walking down the front steps of the castle, someone that looked a lot like Professor Snape.

He was heading toward the forest. The Harry and Rose being made their decision. The Rose half jumped on the broom and flew over the grounds, gliding silently through the air as the Harry half waited next to the shed. The Rose half flew with the same skill and precision as the Harry half, though her eyes and ears were sharper than the Harry half's were. The trees were so thick she could barely see where Snape had gone, circling until she heard voices and spotted two professors standing in a shadowy clearing. The Harry and Rose being listened carefully, feeling a deep curiosity as to why Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell were in the forbidden forest.

"I d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..." Professor Quirrell stammered.

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," Professor Snape said in an icy voice. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."

Professor Quirrell muttered something but Professor Snape interrupted him.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?" Professor Snape asked coolly.

"B-b-but Severus, I..." Professor Quirrell stammered.

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell." Professor Snape stated as he took a step toward him.

"I-I don't know what you..." Professor Quirrell was once again interrupted.

"You know perfectly well what I mean." Professor Snape stated.

An owl hooted loudly and the Rose half jumped, startled. She steadied the broom and heard Professor Snape end the last bit of a statement.

"your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't..." Professor Quirrell tried to continue.

"Very well." Professor Snape interrupted again. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."

With that, he threw his cloak over his head and strode from the forest. Gazing down, the Rose half could see Professor Quirrell standing quite still as if petrified. Quickly, the Rose half spun around and silently flew off back to the shed, picking up speed but making sure she wasn't seen. Landing, she placed the broom in the shed and walked back to the castle with the Harry half, the Harry and Rose being pondering what it all meant. It only seemed to confirm their suspicion of Professor Snape trying to steal the stone, though. Perhaps the two of them were working together, though such a thought was based on only one piece of evidence, the conversation they'd just overheard.

Ron and Hermione were told what they'd heard, and as the weeks passed, Professor Quirrell seemed to be getting thin and pale. The Stone remained safe as far as they knew, since Professor Snape swept around with his usual bad temper. When they passed the third floor corridor, they always checked to make sure Fluffy was still inside. During Defense Against the Dark Art's classes and when they passed Professor Quirrell, the Harry and Rose being gave him an encouraging smile, though he didn't return it. They were hoping he would stay strong and not give up any information, and if he was working with Professor Snape, hoped he wouldn't obtain any information.

"This will help!" Hermione insisted one evening in the common room. "Trust me."

"Color coding notes, organizing study lists?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Hermione, the exams are further away than a few weeks, we've got time."

"Ten weeks!" Hermione snapped. "That's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."

"We're not all six centuries old now, are we?" The Harry and Rose being shot back, it close to a full moon day.

"What are you studying for anyway, Hermione?" Ron asked. "You already know everything."

"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me." Hermione sounded panicked.

"Oh, please." The Harry and Rose being sighed. "Calm down, Hermione."

"Calm down, calm down?" Hermione asked shrilly.

"Okay, fine, forget I said anything!" The Harry and Rose being sighed, frowning angrily.

Their friends were used to their more emotional behavior by now, so they didn't comment or remark about it. The teachers piled more homework than ever on them, and the Harry and Rose being were glad to have the ability to work on and comprehend two different assignments at once. If they didn't, they weren't sure how they'd get anything done without time for fun. As it was, they were able to finish the assignments easier than their friends, spending a lot of time simply being with them as they studied. One day in the library, Ron threw down his quill in frustration.

"I'll never remember this." He burst out in frustration.

The Harry and Rose being gazed out the window with him at the beautiful day. The sky was clear and blue, something it hadn't been for quite some time. It also felt like summer was on its way. The Harry and Rose being could imagine the scent of the grass and the look of the trees, sighing in contentment and looking forward to enjoying the weather.

"Hagrid, what are you doing in the library?" Ron asked.

The Harry and Rose being looked over at their large friend, who shuffled into view with something behind his back. He looked rather out of place wearing his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'." He said in a shifty voice. "An' what are you lot up ter? Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago." Ron responded impressively. "And we know what that dog's..."

Acting quickly, the Rose half reached over and clamped her hand over Ron's mouth to silence him, saying fiercely, "Shh!"

"Hagrid, there are a few things we wanted to ask you about that thing." The Harry and Rose being said. "Apart from Fluffy, you know."

"Shh!" Hagrid now said. "Listen, come an' see me later. Not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin' mind, but keep it down. Students aren' s'pposed ter know."

"Sure, sure." The Harry and Rose being replied. "We know that, don't we, Ron?"

Ron nodded, looking rather sheepish.

"Good." The Harry and Rose being smiled. "See you later, then, Hagrid."

Hagrid shuffled off and Hermione asked in a thoughtful voice, "What was he hiding behind his back?"

"I'm going to see what section he was in." Ron said as he got up, glad for the break.

Ron returned about a minute later with several books, putting them on the table.

"Dragons." Ron said. "Hagrid was looking stuff up about Dragons, look at these. Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland. From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."

"I wonder if he wants one, and if so, if he has one." The Harry and Rose being responded. "It wouldn't surprise me, though."

"It's against our laws to own one." Ron stated. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden. Anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got from wild ones in Romania."

"Are there really wild Dragons in Britain?" The Harry and Rose being asked curiously.

"Of course there are." Ron replied. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"Let's study a bit longer, then we'll find out what Hagrid's up to." The Harry and Rose being said. The others agreed, and as their friends studied their exam assignments, the Harry and Rose being studied some of the second year material with curiosity.

All the curtains were closed at Hagrid's house, they noted an hour later. Nothing could be seen through the windows. The Harry and Rose being knocked and Hagrid called, "Who is it?"

"It's us, Hagrid." The Harry and Rose being said.

He opened the door and let them in, closing it behind them. They hadn't expected a fire to be burning, but that's what seemed to be happening. The heat in the house was quite a bit, though it bothered the Rose half less than the Harry half.

"Wan' some tea, sandwiches?" Hagrid offered.

"Sure on tea, no for the sandwiches." The Harry and Rose being said.

"So wha'd you wan' ter ask me?" Hagrid asked a few minutes later.

"Ah, yes." The Harry and Rose being said. "We wondered if you could tell us what's guarding the stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid looked shocked.

"How'd yeh find out abou' the stone?" He asked.

"Oh, I read it in a book I got out of the library." Hermione responded brightly.

"Well..." Hagrid frowned. "I can't tell yeh anythin'. Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts, I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here." Hermione responded in a warm and flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and the Harry and Rose being guessed he was smiling. Hermione continued. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really. We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these words and the Harry and Rose being grinned at Hermione.

"Well, I don s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... Let's see... He borrowed Fluffy from me... Then some o' the teachers did enchantments..." Hagrid started counting them off on his fingers. "Professor Sprout... Professor Flitwick... Professor McGonagall... Professor Quirrell... An' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Yeah, yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it." Hagrid said.

"Hmm." The Harry and Rose being said, unconvinced. "It's really hot in here, Hagrid, can we have a window open?"

"Can't, sorry Harry, Rose." Hagrid responded.

They glanced at the fire, which burned merrily. Hagrid did the same.

"Hagrid, what's that?" Ron asked.

The Harry and Rose being gazed at a huge, black egg underneath the kettle in the middle of the fire.

"Ah... Well, that's... Er..." Hagrid fiddled with his beard nervously.

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron asked as he crouched over the fire to get a closer look. The Harry and Rose being moved closer along with Hermione.

"Won it las' night." Hagrid responded. "I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"Really?" The Harry and Rose being asked with interest. "What did the stranger look like?"

"Dunno." Hagrid replied. "He wouldn' take his cloak off."

The four of them looked stunned.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head, that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up." Hagrid responded.

"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid?" The Harry and Rose being asked casually. "Did you mention Hogwarts?"

They were a little curious about the dragon egg, but it seemed odd to them that he happened to win something that, according to Ron, was illegal.

"Mighta come up." Hagrid said as he tried to remember. "Yeah... He asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after... So I told him an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... An' then I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... Yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... But he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home. So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" The Harry and Rose being asked in a casual tone. Perhaps if they stayed calm and didn't seem eager, Hagrid would reveal something, they thought. It was looking like Hagrid, for all his kindness, wasn't good at keeping secrets, though.

"Well, yeah, how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep..." Hagrid looked horrified.

"You didn't!" Hermione sounded aghast. The Harry and Rose being felt a horrified sort of terror.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that! Forget I said it!" Hagrid exclaimed quickly.

"Hagrid, that could have been anyone!" The Harry and Rose being said in a shocked voice. Quickly, the four of them raced from the house, completely forgetting about the dragon. They didn't speak until they'd entered an abandoned classroom, hearts pounding.

"So that's it then." Ron said. "He knows. What do we do?"

"We go to Dumbledore." The Harry and Rose being said instantly. "And we shouldn't wait, we don't know how far along Professor Snape's gone. He probably knows everything but Fluffy, and Quirrell's protection will probably be something simple."

They nodded and exited the room, but had little success in finding Professor Dumbledore. That evening, they decided to go to the third floor corridor again and get the stone before Professor Snape could steal it.

The Harry half had been the one to go and get the stone with Ron and Hermione, the Rose half laying in their room with her eyes closed. The protections had been much simpler than they'd thought, so easy, in fact, that three first years got past them. Hermione had helped them get past a plant known as Devil's Snare. The Harry half along with Ron and Hermione had used their flying skills to catch an enchanted, flying key to a locked door. Ron had jumped from the knight he'd replaced on a large magical chess set before he'd been taken, though had twisted his ankle when he'd fallen at the side of the board, having come up with a brilliant strategy to win the game so the Harry half could continue with Hermione, who had then knocked out the mountain troll and worked out the clue for a puzzle with two magical fires. The Harry half had gone to the last chamber alone. It was empty accept for the familiar mirror of Erised. Heart pounding, the Harry half stared at the mirror, desperately wanting to find the stone before Professor Snape did. That was the most important thing they could possibly do now, even more important than their family. After all, if Professor Snape got the stone, who knew what he'd do then. Perhaps he'd crash the economy in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, which would bring on far more disasters than they could think of. Or, more importantly, he'd take the immortality from Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, which would cause their deaths. Whatever the reason, they knew the stone was an extremely valuable object, and no matter the cost, Professor Snape couldn't be allowed to steal it.

To their surprise, the Harry and Rose being didn't see their family in the mirror. Instead, they saw them self, who looked desperate but scared. This lasted only a moment, though, before they seemed to relax and smile, the Harry half in the mirror pulling something from his pocket. It was a blood red stone. The reflection of the Harry and Rose being grinned and the reflected Harry half pointed to the Rose half, winked, then handed the stone to her, who put it in her pocket. The Rose half had it. Somehow, it was in her actual pocket now, a real, tangible item, not just a reflected one from the mirror. Sighing with an odd, giddy relief, the Harry half turned around and headed back through the room and to the chamber with the fire, which was gone. The Harry half found Ron and Hermione in the room with the chess set after passing the knocked out troll.

"You okay?" The Harry half asked.

"Yeah, just twinges a bit." Ron said, then asked eagerly, "What happened?"

"I have it." The Harry half said as they proceeded to the room with the flying keys and brooms.

"What, you have the stone?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Yeah, and the Rose half's going to take it to Professor Dumbledore right now." The Rose half climbed from the bed and put on the invisibility cloak, quietly creeping from the room.

"Do you think you can find him?" Ron asked. "We couldn't earlier."

"I'm going to try." The Harry half said as the Rose half quietly moved through the corridors, eyes wide and heart pounding.

The Harry half along with Hermione and Ron mounted the brooms and moved up through the trap door. Immediately, the Harry half started to quietly play the flute he'd received from Hagrid. Just as he had before, Fluffy calmed and fell asleep. Quietly, the three crept toward the door and pushed it slowly open, eyes wide as they looked for anyone who might catch them. After they exited the corridor, the door closed behind them and they jumped. The corridor was lit with a wand and they stared in horror, though the Harry half smiled slightly.

"Follow me." Professor Dumbledore stated in a grave and disappointed tone.

As the three of them followed him, the Rose half quietly but quickly hurried toward the Harry half, who was led to an office that turned out to be Professor McGonagall's. She gazed at the three Gryffindors, looking disappointed and angry.

"They were found at the third floor corridor." Professor Dumbledore stated, then turned toward them. "As it is she who is your head of house, it is she who will determine your punishment. I would, however, like an explanation."

"Professor Snape is trying to steal the stone. We went and I took it first." The Harry half responded, then the Rose half hurried through the door, panting from the run.

"Here, sir." She said, holding it out to Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall looked quite shocked.

Professor Dumbledore took the stone from the Rose half's hand and examined it, turning it over in his hands. When he looked up, delight flashed on his face, though the Harry and Rose being weren't even sure they'd seen it, as it had happened so quickly.

"I must ask that none of you speak of this to anyone." Professor Dumbledore responded in a calm, grave tone.

"If we could get through it, just first years, Professor Snape could. He's trying to steal it." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Professor Snape is not attempting to steal the stone. Of that, I can assure you." Professor Dumbledore replied.

"But he tried to kill the Harry half during the first Quidditch match!" The Harry and Rose being responded indignantly. "Hermione saw him cursing the broom!"

"In fact, he was attempting to save you." Professor Dumbledore gazed at the Harry half. "Such a mistake is understandable. After all, the counter jinks to that placed on the broom by the unknown assailant will appear, at a glance, to be a curse of dark magic. I must applaud your resourcefulness, Ms. Granger, and I do believe for your actions tonight, two-hundred points to Gryffindor is warranted."

The four of them stared in pure shock, mouths dropping open. After a long moment, the Harry and Rose being collected them self.

"Sir, what about the stone, what are you going to do with it?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"It will be moved from Hogwarts. Clearly, the protections we placed were inadequate. I shall contact Nicolas Flamel and discuss with him what is to be done." Professor Dumbledore said. "As I believe your curiosity is now satisfied, I would like you to go on to bed. Minerva, please see to their safe arrival at Gryffindor tower."

Professor McGonagall nodded, and in silence, the four Gryffindors followed her from the room. Once the four of them were in the common room, they sank down in some chairs by the fire, relieved.

"I thought for sure we'd had it." Ron said.

"So did I." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Instead, we get points? What a Headmaster."

"I wonder why the protections were so easy." Hermione stated.

"Well, given that you panicked, Hermione, perhaps the answer's fairly obvious. Honestly, there's no wood to start a fire? You could have burned your wand, I suppose." The Harry and Rose being grinned and Hermione gave the Rose half a light slap.

"Burn my wand? Then what would I have done?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, I dunno, but maybe I should buy you some matches for next time. Just in case." The Harry and Rose being chuckled, then stood, yawning. "Well, it's been a long night, I'm going off to bed."

"Night, then." Ron said, shooting Hermione a grin. As the Harry and Rose being clambered through the portrait hole, they heard Ron continue, asking, "So what kinda wood you want for Christmas next year, Hermione?"

In all the excitement with the stone, along with their incorrect assumptions about Professor Snape, they'd forgotten about the illegal dragon egg Hagrid was keeping in his house. A reminder came to them one morning with one of the school owls. The note was short and simple.

It's hatching.

The only thing Hagrid seemed to be concerned with was the student that had seen them, Draco Malfoy. He wasn't worried about the Norwegian Ridgeback that was growing at an alarming rate. He didn't worry about the fact that he had a wooden house. He shrugged off the concerns of Hermione, Ron, and the Harry and Rose being. Eventually, he knew it was time to let go of the dragon which he'd affectionately called Norbert.

Since the Rose half was strongest, she along with Hermione carried the dragon up to the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday after Ron had received a reply from Charlie about the dragon, having written him a letter. Currently, Ron was in the hospital wing after being bitten, and was likely to remain there for a while longer. Once Norbert was gone, the Rose half and Hermione joyfully headed down the stares, though the Harry and Rose being thought there was something they were forgetting. When Filch spotted them, they realized it had been the cloak. It was still at the top of the tower.

One action ended up costing them the points they'd gained from giving the Stone to Professor Dumbledore, and more. Winning the Gryffindor house cup seemed quite far away now, and wherever they went, the Rose half was looked on with anger by the Gryffindors and cheerful victory by the Slytherins. It was miserable. Even Quidditch had lost its fun.

The day of the detention was one of the Harry and Rose being's emotional ones. They didn't say much and tried to keep their mouths shut. At eleven o'clock that evening, the Rose half along with the others were led from Hogwarts by Filch who was muttering about how pain and hard work were the best teachers. A shame, really, that he lamented about punishments that would cause one pain. The Rose half said nothing and the Harry half simply lay still, eyes closed.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I wan' ter get started." Hagrid called and the Harry and Rose being felt a little relief. The Rose half saw Hermione relax, too.

"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself." Filch said with a malicious grin. "Well think again. It's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll come out of it in one piece."

Neville gasped, his face white. Malfoy stopped cold, not looking quite as collected and confident as he had before.

"The forest? We can't go in there at night, there's all sorts of things in there, werewolves, I heard." Malfoy said.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" Filch said with glee. "Should have thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

"This is your fault, Potter." Malfoy grumbled under his breath, giving the Rose half a scathing glare.

Hagrid strode toward them with Fang at his heals, crossbow in his arms, and a quiver of arrows over a shoulder.

"Abou' time, I've been waitin' fer half an hour already." Hagrid said. "All right, Rose, Hermione?"

"Yeah." The Rose half responded.

"Tha's why yer late, is it?" Hagrid asked as he frowned at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot yer place ter do tha'. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

The Harry and Rose being were delighted to hear panic in Malfoy's voice. Mostly, they felt angry and wanted to get the detention over with so they could get some sleep. Their anger gave them more bravery than they may have had otherwise.

The forest was a dark place that was quite silent. The Rose half went with Hermione and Hagrid, at least, initially. They met up with a couple centaur's as they hunted for the injured Unicorn, following the trail of silver blood. When red sparks were sent up, Hagrid warned the Rose half and Hermione to remain where they were, which they did in silence, the Rose half straining to listen for or hear anything. Hagrid soon returned and the Rose half was going with Malfoy. Don't react, the Harry and Rose being thought with determination. Don't react to a thing he says.

As it turned out, Malfoy didn't say anything. Perhaps he was too frightened, perhaps he just wanted to get the detention over with and knew provoking the Harry and Rose being was unwise. Whatever the reason, they followed the path, which Hagrid had warned them to remain on, for about half an hour before they came to a clearing, the Rose half stopping Malfoy in his tracks. Carefully, they inched closer and saw the beautiful, dead Unicorn. As the Rose half made to step forward, she froze, hearing the same odd slithering sound she'd heard before, as if a cloak was being dragged over the ground. The Harry and Rose being's heart pounded as the Rose half stared at a hooded figure crawling toward the Unicorn, which reached it and bent its head over the wound, drinking its blood.

Malfoy and Fang let out appropriate sounds of terror and ran. The Rose half stood rooted to the spot, the figure slowly raising its head to stare at her before it got to its feet and started swiftly moving toward her. Pain tore through the Harry half's forehead and the Harry and Rose being cried out in response, the Rose half staggering back and staring. The sound of hooves were behind her and something jumped over the Rose half, charging toward the figure. As it left, the Harry and Rose being blinked tears from their eyes and the Harry half clutched his forehead, the pain starting to fade.

It was another centaur that had come to rescue her, neither of the two they'd seen before. The Rose half blinked and looked into his eyes, which were much different than her own, almost brighter blue like sapphires.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"I think so." The Rose half responded, voice trembling. "What was that?"

The centaur looked carefully at the Rose half, then stated, "You are said to be the female part of the Potter boy." His eyes centered on her forehead where the Harry half's scar would have been. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time, especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way." He lowered himself so the Rose half could climb on to his back and introduced himself as Firenze.

"I'm the Rose half as you guessed." She said, clutching his shoulders as he straightened.

More galloping announced the arrival of the two centaur's the Harry and Rose being had seen before, Ronan and Bane. The Rose half had to sit through what she called centaur politics, but once that was done, Firenze whirled around and left, moving through the trees.

The Rose half remained silent, thoughts of the mystery in her mind. Bane had seemed angry, probably because of some cultural thing, and the thing in the forest drinking the blood of the Unicorn... The Harry and Rose being shuttered in fear. That was fading to be replaced by their familiar, uncontrolled and undirected anger. Quite suddenly, Firenze stopped in a rather dense patch of trees.

"Rose Potter, do you know what Unicorn blood is used for?" He asked.

"No." The Rose half responded, voice calm but terse.

"It is a monstrous thing to slay a unicorn." Firenze said, sounding grave. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

"Who would do something so stupid?" The Harry and Rose being said out loud, almost snapping. "Unbelievable. So desperate they're afraid of death, is that it?"

"Perhaps. Firenze responded. "Consider this, Rose Potter. If all you needed was to wait long enough, to stay alive until you could drink something else, something that will bring you back to full strength and power, something that will mean you can never die. Mrs. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

The Harry and Rose being felt a cold pit of fear in their stomach. The Sorcerer's Stone, of course. Professor McGonagall's words came back to them.

"Some believe He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't actually dead, biding his time before he will rise again."

"That was Vold..." The Rose half began, the Harry and Rose being feeling a cold pit of fear.

She was interrupted by Hermione, who was hurrying down the path with Hagrid following behind. The rest of the night passed in a daze and the Harry and Rose being guessed a couple of things, though with a fair degree of certainty. Lord Voldemort was the one trying to steal the stone, and he was also trying to kill them.

Since the stone was, hopefully, safer than it had been before they'd taken it, the Harry and Rose being didn't have him stealing it to worry about. Voldemort had already tried killing them once when they were young, though, and the thought of him doing so again was chilling. It also seemed reasonable, though. If Voldemort wasn't dead, which was quite certain now, it was also likely that he would try and kill them again. They would need to learn defensive spells, the Harry and Rose being decided as they lay in their bed, frightened of the possibility of Voldemort killing them when they least expected it. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 The Voldemort Encounter and Ending the First Year

After a restless night where the Harry and Rose being thought about Voldemort trying to steal the stone, imagined various ways Voldemort would kill them now that they knew, for certain, he was alive, they threw off the covers and climbed from bed. Spotting something glinting in the room. The invisibility cloak was neatly folded on their trunk with a note pinned to it.

Just in case.

The next days were filled with a panicked sort of fear, the Harry and Rose being expecting Voldemort to finish them off whenever they rounded a corner. They were surprised to have gotten through their exams at all given what they knew, but they managed it somehow. Some time ago, Professor McGonagall had told them that they would be wise to do their exams as separate individuals. They relented to her judgement, though hadn't been happy about it, just as they'd relented to Professor Snape, who had insisted they perform their assignments separately despite having received an explanation from the headmaster.

There were both practical and written exams. The written portion was easy enough and something they were used to from their Muggle school days. The practical wasn't too bad either. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox, which they thought they'd done fairly good at, given that they were able to concentrate on the form they wanted it to take. Professor Flitwick wanted them to make a pineapple dance across the desk. Professor Snape had them brew a Forgetfulness potion, observing them so closely it made them nervous. Throughout it all, the Harry half's scar throbbed with sharp pains.

The history of magic exam was last, and once finished, the Harry and Rose being sighed with relief. Hermione went on about the exams and how much easier they were than they'd thought, walking on to the grounds with everyone else to enjoy the day. As usual, she went on about their exam papers, wanting to go through them again. Why was beyond them. There were more important things to be concerned with, such as Voldemort. Ron and Hermione didn't seem as concerned as the Harry and Rose being were, and as they flopped down under a tree by the lake, the Harry half rubbed the scar on his forehead with a sigh of anger, unable to enjoy the beautiful Friday as much as they'd wanted.

"I wish I knew what this means, the Harry half's scar keeps hurting." The Harry and Rose being snapped. "It's happened before but never this much."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey." Hermione suggested.

"I doubt there's anything she can do." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Besides I'm not sick. I think it's a warning of danger. It happened when that figure came after me that was drinking the Unicorn's blood. It happened when Professor Snape looked at me and he doesn't like me. I think Danger's coming."

"Harry, relax. I don't think anything's going to happen." Ron said.

Before they could talk any further, a shadow fell over them as the Harry half's scar gave another sharp throb.

"P-P-Potter's, I-I w-w-wish t-to s-s-s-speak w-w-with y-you a-a-about y-y-your e-e-e-exam r-r-results." Professor Quirrell stammered.

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being said.

That was rather unusual, they thought, but stood and followed him anyway. Professor Quirrell led the way to his class room and closed the door behind him. When he turned to face them, his baring had changed completely. He looked more confident now, not as nervous. He didn't have his wand, but radiated a feeling of danger anyway.

"Tell me, Potter's." Professor Quirrell said. "Where is the stone?"

The Harry and Rose being's mouth's dropped open in shock.

"You?" They asked, feeling completely shocked.

Professor Quirrell smiled slowly.

"Me." He stated.

"How... What..." The Harry and Rose being could hardly believe what they were seeing.

"So hard to believe, is it?" Professor Quirrell asked. "But of course, who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering Professor Quirrell?"

"I thought Snape... Thought he tried to kill me..." The Harry and Rose being trailed off.

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a counter curse, trying to save you." Professor Quirrell stated.

So Professor Dumbledore had been right, the Harry and Rose being thought. They'd had their doubts, even after he told them Professor Snape wasn't trying to kill them. With no other evidence, it still seemed somewhat reasonable, but so had Professor Dumbledore's.

"But I digress, Potter's. You will tell me where the stone is. Then, I shall kill you tonight." Professor Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes sprang out of thin air, wrapping around both of them. "You're too nosy to live, Potters. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

The Harry and Rose being's heart pounded wildly. More time, they thought furiously. If there was more time, Professor Dumbledore or one of the others could come and save them. They hid their terror as best they could, thinking frantically of the next thing to ask.

"You let the troll in?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "On Halloween?"

"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls." Professor Quirrell replied. "Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off, and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly."

"I saw you and Snape in the forest." The Harry and Rose being stated. Just a few more minutes was all they needed.

"Yes." Professor Quirrell idly replied. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me-as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side."

The door was flung open and the Harry and Rose being felt a wild hope. Ron and Hermione stood there, wands out and ready to defend them.

"Hey!" Ron shouted bravely. "Get away from them!"

Professor Quirrell turned with a sinister smirk and waved his hand, sending Ron flying into the wall behind him.

"Ron!" Hermione screamed.

With another wave, the door slammed and locked, then Professor Quirrell pulled out his wand and waved it around the room. Something powerful seemed to sweep through it, making the Harry and Rose being's necks tingle.

"No more interruptions, Potter's." Professor Quirrell stated. "The quicker you tell me where the Stone is, the quicker this ends."

"I'll never tell you." The Harry and Rose being responded.

Another voice spoke in the room, but Professor Quirrell's lips weren't moving.

"Let me speak with them, face to face." The voice was high and cold.

"Master, you are not strong enough!" Professor Quirrell exclaimed.

"I have strength enough... For this." The voice replied.

Professor Quirrell reached up and unwrapped his turban, which fell away leaving his head looking rather small without it. He then turned around on the spot and the Harry and Rose being stared with utter horror. A face was sticking right out of the back of his head, chock white and with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils like a snake.

"Harry and Rose Potter." The face whispered.

The Harry and Rose being felt petrified with terror. It had to be Lord Voldemort.

"See what I have become?" The face of lord Voldemort said. "Mere shadow and vapor... I have form only when I can share another's body... But there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... You saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... Why don't you tell me the location of the Stone."

"Never." The Harry and Rose being said as they struggled to escape the ropes holding them, tumbling to the floor.

"Remove those..." Voldemort commanded.

With another snap of his fingers, the ropes binding them tight vanished. The Harry and Rose being scrambled to their feet and backed up.

"Don't be a fool..." Voldemort snarled. "Better to save your own life and join me, or you'll meet the same end as your parents... Mr. Potter's died begging me for mercy."

"Liar!" The Harry and Rose being shouted.

Voldemort's face was smiling.

"How touching." He hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes... Your parents were brave Mr. Potter... I killed your father first and he put up a courageous fight... But your mother didn't have to die... She was trying to protect you both... Now tell me where the Stone is... Unless you want her to have died in vane."

"No!" The Harry and Rose being shouted. It didn't matter that they didn't know. Voldemort thought they did. That was enough to put them in grave danger.

The Harry and Rose being sprang for the door and Voldemort shouted, "SEIZE THEM!"

Professor Quirrell grabbed the wrist of the Harry half and pain ripped through his scar, making his head feel as if it was going to split open. The Harry and Rose being shouted, and faintly, they thought they could hear something outside the room.

Professor Quirrell let him go with surprise and the Harry and Rose being stared at him, the pain in the Harry half's head lessening. He was hunched over in pain, staring at his fingers which were blistering before their eyes.

"Seize them! SEIZE THEM!" Voldemort shrieked.

Professor Quirrell lunged at them again and knocked the Harry half off his feet, hands around his neck. Pain ripped through the Harry half's scar again, and struggling through the agony, the Rose half dragged herself toward them. With a leap, she landed on Quirrell and the Harry and Rose being held on to him as tightly as they could, the pain doubling as it tore through the Rose half's head as well. Professor Quirrell was shouting along with the Harry and Rose being, who barely heard their own screams. Other voices were also shouting in the background but they made no sense. They knew only one thing, they must hold on as tightly as they could, they couldn't let go. They clutched tightly to Professor Quirrell, screaming, shrieking in sheer agony, the pain growing more and more intense before it seemed they were floating, drifting down... Everything went dark.

Slowly, everything began to fade back into consciousness. The Rose half was clinging to the Harry half's hand gently, but with a firmness of grip that was comforting to the Harry and Rose being. They were laying on something soft and rather comfortable. They blinked and spotted something glittering above them. After another moment, Professor Dumbledore's smiling face came into focus. They swallowed.

"Sir, the stone... Voldemort tried to get it from me." The Harry and Rose being said frantically.

"Calm yourself, Harry and Rose." Professor Dumbledore replied. "You need not be concerned with that. Voldemort is no longer in Hogwarts, and therefore, no longer able to obtain that which he sought."

The Harry and Rose being looked around and spotted a table next to the bed they lay in, which looked as if it was piled with half the candy shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers." Dumbledore responded to their look, smiling brightly. "What happened between yourself and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have I been in here?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Three days." Professor Dumbledore replied. "Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round. They have been extremely worried."

"Sir, I've been wondering..." The Harry and Rose being trailed off for a moment. "What happened to the stone?"

"Given that three first year students easily circumvented the protections in place, it was decided that allowing the stone to remain in existence was too great a risk. It has been destroyed." Professor Dumbledore responded.

"But your friend Nicolas Flamel..." The Harry and Rose being trailed off in silence.

"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" Professor Dumbledore asked, sounding delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"He and his wife will die, won't they?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die." Professor Dumbledore said. "To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all, the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

The Harry and Rose being said nothing for a moment, listening to Professor Dumbledore humming to himself.

"Sir, even if the stone's gone, Voldemort is going to find some way to return, won't he?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"I believe that he will." Professor Dumbledore began. "He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share. Not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time. If he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

The Harry and Rose being nodded, ignoring the pain in their heads. Compared to what they'd been through, it was insignificant.

"Sir, there's some things I want to know the truth about." The Harry and Rose being said.

"The truth." Professor Dumbledore let out a sigh. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Voldemort said he only killed the Harry half's mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. Why would he want to kill me in the first place?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

Professor Dumbledore let out an even deeper sigh.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you, not today, not now. I know you will hate to hear this, but when you are older, when you are ready, you will know." Professor Dumbledore responded.

"But sir..." The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Put it from your mind, Harry and Rose." Professor Dumbledore said firmly.

The Harry and Rose being let out a sigh and closed their eyes briefly, then opened them, deciding little would be served from attempting to argue.

"Quirrell couldn't touch me." The Harry and Rose being said. "Why not?"

"Your mother died to save you." Professor Dumbledore replied. "If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign ... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Professor Dumbledore became quite interested on a bird on the windowsill, allowing the Harry and Rose being to silently cry in privacy. Gently and carefully, they wiped tears from their faces and dried their eyes on the bed sheet, overwhelmed with emotion. The Harry half's parents had cared for both of them equally, that was the only explanation they could think of for what had happened.

After they took a deep breath, the Harry and Rose being asked, "The invisibility cloak... Do you know who sent it to me?"

"Ah." Professor Dumbledore faced them with twinkling eyes. "Your father left it in my possession and I thought you might like it. Useful things... Your father mainly used it to sneak off to the kitchens while he was here."

"Professor Snape doesn't seem to like me much." The Harry and Rose being said. "It started with the Harry half... But why?"

"For that, you must understand that Professor Snape holds a deep animosity toward Mr. James Potter, your father." Professor Dumbledore looked at the Harry half when he spoke. "In fact, it is similar to that which exists between yourself and Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps it would not bee quite so bad if James Potter hadn't saved Professor Snape's life. But then, of course, he would not be here as he is today, and therefore, would have no opportunity to dislike you so."

"The Harry half's father saved Professor Snape and he hates him for it?" The Harry and Rose being asked with confusion.

"Yes..." Professor Dumbledore responded in a dreamy voice. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt. ... I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace. ..."

"That sounds... Childish somehow." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Perhaps so." Professor Dumbledore said as if contemplating deeply.

"There's one other thing I was wondering, Professor." The Harry and Rose being said. "I didn't ask you after the fact, but how did I get the stone out of the mirror, and why did it go to the Rose half and not the Harry half?"

"Ah, Harry and Rose, I do believe you are quite mistaken." Professor Dumbledore said.

"What?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "I didn't get the stone from the mirror?"

"In fact, you did. However, the mistake I refer to, is you wishing to know one more thing, when it is, in fact, two you asked about." Professor Dumbledore said.

"Oh." The Harry and Rose being blushed and Professor Dumbledore smiled. When they realized he was only joking, they chuckled a little.

"Ah, the mirror." Professor Dumbledore continued. "It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone, find it, but not use it, would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes."

"Why did it go to the Rose half?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"That, I cannot answer." Professor Dumbledore replied. "There are many mysteries of magic, some even I do not know. However, I wish to digress if I may."

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being said.

"If memory serves, Professor McGonagall informed you the room in which you stay was temporary, to be used during your first year only." Professor Dumbledore said.

"Yeah, she said that." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"As you are seen as married by the various charms and spells of magic, I believe it is a safe assumption for you to use the rarely, but ever present rooms made available and only visible to married couples, adults, Prefects, and the staff here at Hogwarts. You shall find the door to such room between the boys and girls staircases in the Gryffindor common room." Professor Dumbledore explained.

"I've always seen that door." The Harry and Rose being said. "Does that mean I can go through it?"

"Indeed it does." Professor Dumbledore responded. "Before I give permission for you to use such a room, I must ensure both of you are aware of the consequences abuse of such a room will entail."

"We won't be using it if we abuse its use, like the other room we've used?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"In fact, the consequences may go beyond that, something I do believe will be explained to you when you are older. That, however, is not a responsibility of mine, for which I am utterly delighted." Professor Dumbledore said. "And that shall settle that. And now, I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit- flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them, but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

Professor Dumbledore smiled and put a golden brown bean in his mouth. After a very short moment, he choked, then said, "Alas! Ear wax!" The Harry and Rose being laughed.

"Can I see them, please?" The Harry and Rose being asked Madam Pomfrey, a kind, but strict woman, a few minutes having passed. Professor Dumbledore had since left.

"You need your rest, both of you." Madam Pomfrey replied. "If you could rest apart, I definitely wouldn't allow either of you to share a bed."

"I'm just sleeping, you try sleeping with half your body missing." The Harry and Rose being responded. Madam Pomfrey looked a little puzzled. "Please, Madam Pomfrey, I am resting. I'm laying down, being still."

"Very well." Madam Pomfrey said with a sigh. "Five minutes only."

"Thank you." The Harry and Rose being said as she let Ron and Hermione in.

"Harry!" Hermione said as she hurried over to them, flinging her arms around the Rose half. The Harry and Rose being flinched at the pain from their heads and closed their eyes, Hermione letting them go. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you at all, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit sore." The Harry and Rose being replied. "My head hurts a bit, but I'll be fine."

"The whole school's talking about it." Ron said. "What really happened?"

"Well, after Professor Quirrell took me to his class room, he closed the door behind him." The Harry and Rose being said. "He asked me where the stone was. I couldn't believe it!"

Ron and Hermione's mouth's dropped open in shock.

"That's it right there, that's the expression." The Harry and Rose being grinned. "Of course, I didn't know where the stone was, so I didn't have anything to tell him. So I let him talk about how he'd put himself in a role no one would suspect, told him about my suspicions for Professor Snape, which were still wrong, by the way. Quirrell told me that Professor Snape had been trying to save me. Quirrell was the one trying to kill me."

Ron and Hermione gasped.

"No!" Ron said.

"Yes!" The Harry and Rose being responded. "You accidentally knocked over Quirrell at the Quidditch match, Hermione. If you hadn't, he'd have succeeded."

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth.

"He told me he'd kill me that night after I told him where the stone was. Like everyone else, he saw me as two people, not one. But anyway, he snapped his fingers and ropes appeared around my bodies, binding them together tightly and preventing us from moving much." The Harry and Rose being said.

Ron and Hermione shuttered a little.

"I guessed, and was right about Quirrell having let the troll in on Halloween. I had to stall for someone to come and save me." The Harry and Rose being continued. "Quirrell told me that Professor Snape suspected him already and tried to stop him, but failed. I told him I saw the two of them in the forest, and that was when..." The Harry and Rose being paused.

"When what?" Hermione asked in eager anticipation.

"I found out someone was on Quirrell's side. Voldemort." The Harry and Rose being said dramatically.

Ron jumped and gasped in terror. Hermione's reaction was less dramatic, but still worth it all the same.

"Then what?" Hermione asked.

"You both flung open the door!" The Harry and Rose being responded, grinning. "My knights in shining armor!"

"Some nights." Ron grumbled. "Didn't even get a spell off before he knocked me out."

"Ah well, better luck next time, maybe." The Harry and Rose being stated, still grinning.

"What happened after that?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he waved his hand again and closed the door, pulled out his wand and did some funny thing with it, dunno what. Then, insisted I tell him where the stone was. I wouldn't, said I'd never tell." The Harry and Rose being said. "That was when I heard a voice, very strange, high, almost whispering, but Quirrell wasn't talking."

"Who was it?" Ron asked.

"Quirrell took off his turban and turned around." The Harry and Rose being said. "It was something chock white, with red eyes, the horrible face of Voldemort."

Hermione screamed.

"He tried to tempt me, tried to tell me not to be a fool like my parents, said the father of the Harry half put up a good fight, that he valued our bravery. I didn't join him, wouldn't. He was the one that killed the parents of the Harry half, I wasn't going to join with such a monster. Then he wanted Quirrell to grab me, to kill me." The Harry and Rose being said.

Ron and Hermione gasped again.

"He couldn't do it, though, not without causing himself agony. And me, too, but I didn't care. His skin was burning, he couldn't kill me if I touched him, so the Harry half grabbed him and the Rose half jumped on his back, both of us holding on for deer life. Then we lost consciousness, woke up here, and found out the Stone was destroyed." The Harry and Rose being said.

"So, the Flamel's are going to die?" Hermione asked.

"That's right." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Professor Dumbledore says that it's like going to sleep after a long day for them, and to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"I always thought he was off his rocker." Ron responded.

"What happened to the two of you, anyway?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Well, when I shouted Ron's name and the door closed and locked, Professor Dumbledore hurried over to us as if he already knew what had happened. Ron was groaning and I pulled him away from the corridor across from the room. Ron woke up and we watched him waving his wand and muttering, taking down the wards around the room. It was like power was in the air, it was incredible!" Hermione said, as if eager to share.

"I'm glad you got to see something probably not many people have." The Harry and Rose being said. "You going to learn about wards next, Hermione?"

"Oh, yes. They're utterly fascinating, they can protect something as basic as a small sliver of space in a room, or something as large as a house, or even a camp sight. There's even some basic protections someone can put around a specific area that..." Hermione began.

"Harry, Rose, you did it again, now she'll never shut up." Ron said, but was smiling. Hermione swatted at him, though she, too, had a smile on her face.

"All right, you two, time's up." Madam Pomfrey said as she came over. "Out, out."

After they left, the Harry and Rose being turned over and hugged each other close, the Harry half running his fingers slowly through the Rose half's hair. They sighed in relaxation and thought about the events, everything they'd been through that school year. Gradually, the sounds around them drifted off into nothing. Surprisingly, the Harry and Rose being slept quite peacefully that night.

They felt normal enough the next morning, though Madam Pomfrey was somewhat reluctant to allow them to go to the feast. She was going to let them, though, and Hagrid came to visit them. After he sat and took a look at them, he burst out into tears.

"Oh, Hagrid." The Harry and Rose being said, the Rose half reaching out and patting his arm gently.

"It's... All, my, ruddy, fault!" Hagrid sobbed heavily as he spoke, face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thin' he didn' know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"

Large tears were spilling from his eyes on to his face as he shook with grief and remorse. The Rose half reached out and patted his shoulder, the Harry and Rose being looking comfortingly at him.

"Hagrid, he'd have found out eventually even if you hadn't told him. It's not your fault, besides, weather he got past Fluffy or not doesn't matter, I did first with Ron and Hermione. And remember, this is Voldemort we're talking about." The Harry and Rose being said understandingly. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Yeh could've died! And don' say the name!" Hagrid sobbed.

"Voldemort!" The Harry and Rose being shouted. "I've met him and I'm calling him by his name!" Hagrid was so shocked he stopped crying. They continued much more gently. "Now, go on and have a chocolate frog, I've got a lot. It'll make you feel better, it always cheers me up."

Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "Tha' reminds me, I got yeh some presents."

Hagrid took the cover off a box he'd carried in, which turned out to be a cage with a beautiful snowy owl inside. On top of the box had been a leather-covered book, which he handed to the Harry and Rose being along with a bag and another book. The bag seemed to contain treats for the owl and the book was a guide on taking care of her, as she was apparently a female.

"Yeh'll wan' ter look at tha' first." Hagrid indicated the leather-covered book.

The Harry and Rose being opened it and stared at the pages of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were the Harry and Rose half's parents.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... Knew yeh didn' have any... D'yeh like it?" Hagrid asked.

The Rose half turned toward him, tears of emotion streaming down her face.

"Yes." She said in a soft and trembling voice as the Harry half kept looking, blinking furiously to keep the tears from his eyes. "And the owl, too, thanks... Thanks a lot, Hagrid..."

The Harry and Rose being had been held up by Madam Pomfrey, who had insisted on giving them one last checkup. As a result, they went to the feast alone, the great hall already full when they entered. It was covered in the Slytherin colors of green and silver. Once again for the seventh year in a row, they'd won the house cup. Behind the high table was a giant banner with the Slytherin serpent on it.

As the Harry and Rose being entered, a sudden silence fell before everyone started talking all at once. They made their way to the Gryffindor table and sat, ignoring the fact that people were standing and trying to get a look at them. Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore arrived moments later and everyone became silent.

"Another year gone!" Professor Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... You have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts... Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points. In third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two. Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six, and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

Cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. The Harry and Rose being spotted Malfoy banging his goblet on the table, turning away from the sight.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin." Professor Dumbledore continued. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went still and the Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"First, to Mr. Ronald Weasley." Professor Dumbledore began. "For the will, determination, and bravery to come to the aid of a friend, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Cheering poured through the great hall from the Gryffindor table and the Harry and Rose being clapped along with everyone else.

"Second!" Dumbledore continued after the cheering had calmed. "To Miss Hermione Granger. For the use of logic in a most intently stressful situation, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

More cheering, louder than the first, followed.

"And finally!" Professor Dumbledore continued after the cheering had calmed. "It is quite difficult to face fire, and even more so when that fire burns hot. To Mr. Harry Potter and Mrs. Rose Potter, for pure nerve and an outstanding courage of which Gryffindor house should be proud indeed, I award seventy points."

If someone had been standing outside the great hall in that moment, they couldn't be blamed for finding cover and hitting the floor for fear of an explosion. Such was the sound that it could have easily been mistaken for such. Gryffindors were jumping from their seats, clapping, cheering and shouting in joy.

"This being said!" Professor Dumbledore called over the cheering. "And my calculations being correct, I believe a change in decoration is in order!"

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold. The Slytherin serpent vanished to be replaced by a towering Gryffindor lion. Professor Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand with a horrible, forced smile. When he caught the Harry half's eye, the Harry and Rose being knew his feelings toward them hadn't changed. His eyes slid to the Rose half, who he gave the same glare. It didn't worry them. After all, there were much better things out there to enjoy.

The evening was the best the Harry and Rose being had ever experienced. It was one they wouldn't forget. The exam results made it even better. Of course, Hermione got the top grades out of all the first years, something the Harry and Rose being congratulated her for.

The next day, their wardrobes were emptied, trunks packed, and they were on the Hogwarts express with notes telling underage students magic wasn't allowed outside of school. A shame, really, but that didn't matter. Next school year, the Harry and Rose being planned to be back for more fun and more schooling.

Once they reached platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross station, they were led from the platform by an old man who only let them exit in pairs or three's. It wouldn't due to attract the attention of the Muggles, after all. The Harry and Rose being understood that, though found them self dreading the Dursley's company a little. They didn't know what they'd think of their new owl, something which they hadn't had before they'd left for Hogwarts.

"You must come and stay this summer." Ron said. "I'll send both of you owls." He spoke to Hermione and the Harry and Rose being.

"Oh, Ron!" The Harry and Rose being said. "Now you're getting the hang of it!"

"That's right, mate, just had to let it sink in, is all! It's sure strange, but that's my friend, the Harry and Rose being." Ron responded with a beaming smile.

The Harry and Rose being hugged him with both halves and Ron blushed a little.

"Very nice, Ron, thanks! You accept me fully now!" The Harry and Rose being were grinning widely, then they continued. "I'll need something to look forward to, so owl me quick, okay?"

"I'll do what I can." Ron replied, then Hermione hugged both halves of the Harry and Rose being, she also grinning.

"I'll see you soon, Harry and Rose being." She said.

"Good." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I hope sooner than our return to Hogwarts."

"So do I." Hermione said.

As they moved to exit the platform, people called out to the Harry and Rose being as individuals, though they were used to that by now.

"See you, Harry and Rose!"

"Bye, Potter's!"

"Still famous?" Ron said, grinning.

"Not where I'm going, I promise you that." The Harry and Rose being responded.

After the Harry and Rose being passed through the gateway behind Ron and Hermione, they heard a young girl cry out.

"There he is, mum, look! There he is!"

Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, was pointing at the Harry half.

"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point." Mrs. Weasley smiled down at the Harry and Rose being. "Busy year?" She asked.

"Very." The Harry half responded, the Harry and Rose being deciding now was a good time to start acting like the individuals they weren't. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."

"Yeah, they were nice." The Rose half added.

"Oh, it was nothing, dears." Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Ready, are you?"

And there stood Uncle Vernon looking furious with a purple face, angry at the nerve of the Harry and Rose being to carry an owl in a station full of ordinary people. The Harry and Rose being also spotted Aunt Petunia standing behind him. Next to her was Dudley, who looked terrified at the sight of them.

"You must be Harry and Rose's family." Mrs. Weasley said politely.

"In a manner of speaking." Uncle Vernon replied. "Hurry up you two, we haven't got all day." He then walked off toward his waiting vehicle.

"See you both over the summer, then." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Hope you have a good... Er... Holiday." Hermione said uncertainly, staring after Uncle Vernon.

"Oh, I will." The Harry and Rose being responded. "You see, I seem to have lost that note stating I can't perform underage magic. I won't, of course, but they won't know that. Oh, am I going to have fun with Dudley this summer."

With a wide grin, chuckling merrily, the Harry and Rose being headed off toward the Dursley's where they stood waiting by their car. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Summer Challenges

"Just where did you get that bloody bird?" Uncle Vernon asked firmly after they pulled in to number four.

"It was a gift from one of the staff at school." The Harry half explained calmly.

"Well if you think you'll be letting it out, think again, boy." Uncle Vernon said, locking her in her cage with a large padlock. "And as for these, you won't be needing them, now will you?"

Uncle Vernon hauled the Harry and Rose being's trunk into the cupboard under the stares, a place they were glad they didn't have to sleep in. He then locked it shut and the Harry and Rose being sighed, deciding that speaking would be useless. After all, the Dursley's didn't really care much for them.

"You'll be back to work helping Aunt Petunia with whatever she asks." Uncle Vernon explained firmly.

"Sure, not a problem." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"And don't you start talking like that." Uncle Vernon stated dangerously.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon." The Rose half stated sarcastically.

"Don't you talk back to me, girl. To your room, and be down for Dinner." Uncle Vernon responded coolly.

The Harry and Rose being went up to their room and entered. It was just as they'd left it. With a sigh, they moved to the window and stared at the street below, gazing at the identical flowers, houses, and the children playing in the street. After a moment, the Harry and Rose being turned toward one another and gazed into each other's eyes. The Harry half was looking more attractive, oddly, and the Rose half was definitely looking more beautiful than before. She'd grown a few inches, too, something that was expected. They didn't know what they would have done if they hadn't been able to order the braw with the automatic resizing charm on it. Aunt Petunia surely wouldn't have purchased the Rose half one, but luckily, they didn't have to worry about that with magical items such as those. Since they'd ordered it at Hogwarts, Aunt Petunia didn't know about it, and very likely didn't care.

Dinner was a tense and quiet affair. The Dursley's didn't talk to the Harry and Rose being, and they didn't talk to them. Once it was over, the Harry and Rose being returned to their room and flopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was likely to turn out to be a long, boring summer vacation.

The days passed slowly and the Harry and Rose being named their owl Hedwig, which she seemed to like. They felt frustration that letting her out would be useless, had nightmares about Voldemort, and didn't receive a single letter from anyone at Hogwarts. It was as if they didn't really care. Hedwig, on the other hand, didn't appreciate being locked in her cage and would often screech to be let out. If they'd had the ability, they would have let her out, but they couldn't use magic outside of school.

Compared to Hogwarts, life at the Dursley home was flat and dull, a world with still pictures, no magic, and nothing incredible. The Harry and Rose being missed it with a painful grief, and almost thought it had been a dream since no one, not even Ron, was writing to them.

One morning, the Harry half's birthday morning, in fact, Uncle Vernon started shouting at them across the table about Hedwig, who had woken him early.

"Third time this week! If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!" Uncle Vernon's voice was loud and firm.

"How would you feel if you were locked in a cage? I'm sure she's frustrated." The Harry half responded, the Rose half scowling. "I'm sure she'd be a lot quieter if I could let her out at night."

"Do I look stupid?" Uncle Vernon asked with a snarl, some fried egg dangling from his mustache. "I know what'll happen if that owl's let out!"

Uncle Vernon exchanged a dark look with Aunt Petunia. The Rose half tried to say something to defend them self, but Dudley let out a loud and long belch. The Harry and Rose being frowned at his rudeness, but could do nothing.

"I want more bacon." Dudley demanded.

"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums." Aunt Petunia turned misty eyes on him. "We must build you up while we've got the chance. I don't like the sound of that school food."

"Oh, please." The Rose half said, the Harry and Rose being feeling rather irritable. "Build him up, does he need to be as big as a house or what?"

"If you ever talk that way again, girl, you'll be sleeping in the cupboard until school!" Uncle Vernon responded in fury.

The Harry and Rose being stared as Dudley, who's bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair, grinned at them.

"Pass the frying pan." He demanded.

The Harry and Rose being were about to snap at him to get it himself before they found something even better.

"You've forgotten the magic word." The Rose half snapped.

Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash, shaking the entire kitchen in the process. Aunt Petunia let out a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth. Uncle Vernon jumped to his feet, vanes throbbing in his temples.

"Go on then, tell us off." The Harry half snapped furiously, gripping the Rose half's hand.

"One more word out of you such as that, and you won't ever be returning to that school of yours! You hear me, Potter's?" Uncle Vernon roared, spraying spit across the table as he spoke.

"Sure, and you need to learn not to spit in other people's food. Thanks, but no thanks, I'm going." The Harry half stated coolly.

"You just hold it right there!" Uncle Vernon roared, pounding his fist on the table. "You threatened my son and I will not stand for it!"

"Threatened your son!" The Harry half shouted.

"Not you, boy, you, girl!" Uncle Vernon roared. "I've told you and told you, I will not tolerate mention of your abnormality under our roof!"

"All right, fine." The Rose half responded. "But if he does one more thing that..."

"Don't you set conditions in this house, girl!" Uncle Vernon shouted even louder if it was possible, leaning closer.

"Okay, fine then, I won't." The Rose half responded.

Uncle Vernon glared at them to make sure they got the message, then sat back down in his chair, breathing hard and watching them to make sure they didn't offend him again. That's what the Harry and Rose being thought of it as, anyway, since magic wasn't at all uncommon. Not the word, and though the Dursley's didn't want to know, the action itself was more common than they realized.

The Harry and Rose being sat in the heavy silence with the Dursley's, Dudley sitting back down and Aunt Petunia lowering her hands from her mouth. It didn't last long, however, as Uncle Vernon cleared his throat.

"Now, as we all know, today is a very important day." He began importantly. The Harry and Rose being rolled their eyes. "This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career."

The Harry and Rose being refrained from sighing. Once again, Uncle Vernon was talking about the dinner party he was going to have with some rich people, and was hoping to get a huge order from them. The Harry and Rose being knew what that meant.

"I think we should run through the schedule one more time." Uncle Vernon stated. "We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be-?"

"In the lounge, waiting to welcome them graciously to our home." Aunt Petunia replied promptly.

"Good, good. And Dudley?" Uncle Vernon asked.

"I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley smiled in a fowl way, which looked not at all realistic to the Harry and Rose being. He then added, "May I take your coat, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"

"They'll love him!" Aunt Petunia cried. Yeah right, the Harry and Rose being thought.

"Excellent, Dudley." Uncle Vernon smiled proudly, then glared at the Harry and Rose being. "And you two?"

"I'll be in my bedroom making no noise and pretending I'm not there." The Harry and Rose being began. "Which is impossible because I'll be there, but of course, you don't really care about that."

"Drop the cheek and double speak. Now." Uncle Vernon growled menacingly.

The Harry and Rose being sighed and Uncle Vernon collected himself before continuing.

"I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them drinks. At eight-fifteen..."

"I'll announce dinner." Aunt Petunia responded.

"And, Dudley, you'll say?" Uncle Vernon asked.

"May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?" Dudley offered his fat arm to an invisible woman.

"My perfect little gentleman!" Aunt Petunia sniffed.

"And you?" Uncle Vernon added in a vicious tone to Harry and Rose.

"In our room making no noise, pretending like we don't exist." The Rose half said in a flat, toneless voice.

"Precisely. Now, we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?" Uncle Vernon asked.

"Vernon tells me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason... Do tell me where you bought your dress, Mrs. Mason..." Aunt Petunia offered.

"Perfect!" Uncle Vernon responded in a jovial voice. "Dudley?"

"How about... We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you." Dudley provided.

The Harry and Rose being ducked their heads under the table, struggling to hold in their amusement. Aunt Petunia was heard bursting into tears. Soon enough, Uncle Vernon spoke again.

"And you two?" His voice was cold and furious.

The Harry and Rose being straightened up, faces straight.

"In room, no noise, not existing." The Harry half stated in return.

"Too right you will." Uncle Vernon replied in a forceful voice. "The Masons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way. When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten. We'll be shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time tomorrow."

The Harry and Rose being weren't excited about this. The Dursley's probably wouldn't like them any better on vacation than they did at their house.

"Right." Uncle Vernon added. "I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me." He turned to the Harry and Rose being. "And you. Stay out of your Aunt's way while she's cleaning."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon." The Harry and Rose being replied with a frown, stood, then left through the back door. The day was quite sunny and looked beautiful. They sat down on the garden bench and leaned against one another, singing quietly, "Happy birthday, Harry half. Happy birthday." The Rose half put an arm around the Harry half, who leaned his head on her shoulder, the Harry and Rose being sighing.

It wasn't as if they'd expected anything different. No cards, no presents, no bothering the Dursley's. It was miserable. Why hadn't Ron written to them, sent them anything? Hermione? Hagrid? They stared into the hedge dully. The amusement of muttering nonsense words under their breath to Dudley had left, though it did terrify him so. At least the Dursley's didn't know they couldn't perform magic outside school, and they wanted to keep it that way.

Suddenly, they straightened and stared intently at the hedge, having seen a pair of two enormous green eyes appear on the leaves. The Harry and Rose being raked their eyes along it but saw nothing more, but they'd been sure something had been staring at them. Their heart pounded, then Dudley's voice carried across the lawn.

"I know what day it is." He sang as he waddled toward the Harry and Rose being.

"Wonderful, you've finally learned the days of the week." The Harry half said.

"Today's your birthday." Dudley sneered. "How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you got any friends at that freak place?"

"Better not let your mother hear you talking about my school." The Rose half replied coolly. Their coolness thawed somewhat as Dudley hitched up his trousers and they let out a soft grin of amusement.

"Why you staring at the hedge?" Dudley asked in a suspicious tone.

"I'm trying to decide what the best curse would be to put it on fire." The Harry half replied in a pondering voice.

Dudley stumbled backward, looking panicked.

"You c-can't! Dad told you you're not to do m-magic, he said he'll chuck you out of the house and you haven't got anywhere else to go you haven't got any friends to take you..." Dudley's voice was as panicked as his face. The Harry and Rose being adopted a look of intense concentration.

"Jiggery pokery!" The Harry and Rose being said in a fierce voice. "Hocus pocus squiggly wiggly..."

Dudley ran back to the house yelling for Aunt Petunia and telling her they were doing you know what. Aunt Petunia knew they hadn't done any magic, but even so, they had to dodge the frying pan she swung at their heads. She then gave them a list of things to do with a warning they weren't to eat until it was finished. While Dudley lounged around eating ice cream, the Harry and Rose being cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench. Since they had two bodies, the work went faster than it would have otherwise, or at least, it would have if Dudley didn't keep ruining what they were trying to do, stepping in the way of the lawn mower, throwing dirt at the car, turning off the water from the garden hose. At half past seven, Aunt Petunia finally called them in.

"Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!"

The Harry and Rose being did so, sweat dripping down their backs and faces from the hard work. On the fridge, they noticed a pudding, which was a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. Roast pork was sizzling in the oven. Aunt Petunia spoke and pointed out four pieces of bread and two slices of cheese on the kitchen table.

"Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!" She snapped, already wearing the dress she would wear throughout the night.

The Harry and Rose being washed their hands and ate as quickly as they could, then passed Uncle Vernon and Dudley, who were wearing bow ties and dinner jackets. As they reached the top of the stares, the door bell rang, Uncle Vernon's furious face appearing at the base of the stares.

"Remember, one sound..." Uncle Vernon said threateningly.

"Yeah yeah." The Harry and Rose being said under their breath, crossing to their room and opening the door. After they stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind them, they turned and stared at something very odd sitting on their bed.

The small creature had large bat like ears and green eyes, the same eyes that had appeared in the hedge earlier that day. It also seemed to be wearing something that looked like an old pillow case with rips for arms and legs. The Harry and Rose being stared at the creature, who stared back. They heard Dudley's voice in the hall.

"May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"

The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. As the creature straightened up, the Harry and Rose being spoke quietly.

"Hello."

"Harry and Rose Potter!" The creature said in a high pitched voice. The Harry and Rose being was sure it would carry down stares. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you both, sir and Ma'am... Such an honor it is..."

"Thanks." The Harry and Rose being responded. The Rose half sank down in the desk chair and the Harry half sat in her lap, a position both were very familiar with, having done this many times during the summer. Hedwig was sleeping in her cage, which was good. They didn't need more trouble than they were already going to have.

"Who are you?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Dobby, sir and ma'am. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf." The creature responded.

"I see." The Harry and Rose being began calmly. "I don't want to be rude, but this isn't the best time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom."

Aunt Petunia's high, false laugh was heard through the door and the Harry and Rose being vaguely wondered if the Mason's knew it was false just as they did. Dobby, on the other hand, hung his head.

"I am pleased to meet you, it's just that now isn't the best time." The Harry and Rose being said. "Is there any particular reason you're here?"

"Oh, yes, sir and ma'am." Dobby began in an earnest voice. "Dobby has come to tell you, sir and ma'am... It is difficult, sir and ma'am... Dobby wonders where to begin..."

"Sir will do fine, Dobby." The Harry half said as he stood, then stepped from behind the desk and sat down on the bed.

"Why don't you sit down." The Harry half patted the bed next to him.

Dobby suddenly burst into rather noisy tears and the Harry and Rose being flinched.

"S-sit down!" Dobby wailed. "Never... Never ever..."

"I'm sorry." The Harry half whispered as the voices down stares faltered. "Please, shh."

Dobby quieted down.

"I didn't mean to offend you." The Harry half continued.

"Offend Dobby!" He choked. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard-like an equal..."

"Shh." The Harry half said as the Rose half joined him, trying to be gentle and comforting as they ushered Dobby on to the bed. Eventually, he regained control of himself.

"I suppose you've not met many decent wizards." The Harry half said.

Dobby shook his head, then jumped up and started hitting his head against the wall, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

"Stop!" The Harry and Rose being called, yanking him back. "What are you doing?"

Hedwig had woken with a rather loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage. The voices from down stares definitely paused that time.

"Dobby had to punish himself, sir and ma'am." Dobby replied. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir and ma'am..."

"Your family?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Sounds more like your owners."

Dobby said nothing and didn't react to what they'd said.

"Do they know you're here?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Oh, no, sir and ma'am." Dobby replied. "Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir and ma'am. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir and ma'am..."

"Wouldn't they notice that?" The Harry and Rose being asked, horrified.

"Dobby doubts it, sir and ma'am. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir and ma'am. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir and ma'am. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments..." Dobby trailed off.

"Why don't you escape?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"A house-elf must be set free, sir and ma'am. And the family will never set Dobby free... Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir and ma'am..." Dobby responded.

"I guess I don't have it so bad after all." The Harry and Rose being muttered. "Is there anything I can do to help you, Dobby?"

Dobby broke down again in wails of gratitude.

"Dobby, please, please don't." The Harry and Rose being said, the Rose half reaching out to hug him, though released him as his wailing increased in volume. "Dobby, please be quiet, please."

Dobby sniffed and gasped for air, shaking with sobs.

"Harry and Rose Potter ask if they can help Dobby... Dobby has heard of your greatness, Harry Potter, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew..." Dobby responded.

"Load of rubbish. I'm not even top of the class in my year." The Harry and Rose being replied. "That's Hermione."

The Harry and Rose being didn't speak of Hermione any further. Thinking of her made them remember that, apparently, they weren't so important after all. A stab of grief drove through them.

"Harry and Rose Potter are humble and modest." Dobby continued. "Harry and Rose Potter speak not of Harry Potter's triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

The Harry and Rose being thought about saying Voldemort, but decided against it. It wouldn't due to set Dobby off again. Dobby leaned closer to the Harry and Rose being and spoke in a horse voice.

"Dobby heard that Harry and Rose Potter met the dark lord for a second time, just weeks ago, that Harry Potter escaped again."

The Harry and Rose being nodded and said, "I did. Both Harry and Rose." They decided to clarify for Dobby, as he seemed to see them as most did, as individuals. Normally, they would have explained further, but didn't want to risk Dobby being heard by the Dursley's, wanting him gone as quickly as they could get him to leave, though without being rude, of course.

Dobby's eyes filled with tears, which he wiped on his pillow case.

"Ah, sir and ma'am, Harry and Rose Potter is valiant and bold! They have braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry and Rose Potter, to warn them, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later... Harry and Rose Potter must not go back to Hogwarts." Dobby stated.

"Explain why, please." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"If Harry and Rose Potter go back to Hogwarts, they will be in mortal danger." Dobby replied.

"Well, as it turns out, I was in mortal danger last time I went there, wasn't I?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "I'll be fine, Dobby. Please."

"No, no, no!" Dobby squeaked. "Harry and Rose Potter are too great, too valuable to lose! There is a plot, Harry and Rose Potter, to make most terrible things happen. Dobby has known of it for months, sir and ma'am. Harry and Rose Potter must not put themselves in danger, sir and ma'am."

"What terrible things, who's plotting them?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

Dobby made a choking sound and started banging his head against the wall again. The Rose half pulled him back.

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being said. "You can't tell me, I understand. But can you at least tell me if it has anything to do with You-Know-Who?"

"Not... Not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir and ma'am." Dobby replied. His eyes were wide, though, and he seemed to be trying to give them a hint.

"Does he have a brother?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

Dobby shook his head, then they thought of Black.

"A servant?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

Dobby shook his head again.

"An equal?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Maybe a relation of some kind?"

Dobby slowly gave a tiny nod.

"I did okay last time, Dobby." The Harry and Rose being responded. "And Professor Dumbledore will be there, you know who he is?"

Dobby nodded.

"Good." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Remember this, too, Dobby. If I stay here, I'll live with these tormenting people."

"The happiness of Harry and Rose Potter is nothing compared with their safety." Dobby replied. "Harry and Rose Potter must not go back to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year."

"It's the only thing I have to look forward to." The Harry and Rose being replied. "That and the friends I think I have."

"Friends who don't even write to Harry and Rose Potter?" Dobby asked in a sly voice.

The Harry and Rose being thought for a few moments, doing so much quicker than a person with only one mind. They frowned with a sudden suspicion.

"Have you been stopping my letters, Dobby, is that how you know?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Dobby has them here, sir and ma'am." He replied, stepping out of the reach of either half and pulling a thick wad of envelopes from his pillow case. The Harry and Rose being recognized the writing of Ron, Hermione and Hagrid.

"Harry and Rose Potter mustn't be angry... Dobby hoped... If Harry and Rose Potter thought their friends had forgotten them... Harry and Rose Potter might not want to go back to school, sir and ma'am..."

The Harry and Rose being's frown deepened and they said, "Dobby, please give them to me. Now."

"Harry and Rose Potter will have them, sir and ma'am, if they give Dobby their word that they will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir and ma'am, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back, sir and ma'am!" Dobby cried.

"Okay, that's it." The Harry and Rose being stated.

The Rose half leapt toward Dobby, who jumped out of her reach looking sadly at her. He then pulled the door open and sprinted down the stares. The Rose half followed as quietly as she could. As she entered the kitchen, the Harry and Rose being swallowed with a dry mouth. Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding was floating near the ceiling. On a cupboard in the corner was Dobby, crouching and staring at the Rose half.

"Dobby don't, please." The Rose half said quietly.

"Rose Potter must say that Harry and Rose Potter are not going back to school." Dobby responded.

"I won't do that." The Rose half responded.

Dobby looked tragically at the Rose half and said, "Then Dobby must do it, ma'am, for Harry and Rose Potter's own good."

The pudding fell to the floor with a crash, splattering the windows and walls. The Rose half gulped as she stared at the shattered dish, Dobby vanishing with a crack. Just as the Harry and Rose being expected, Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen, finding the Rose half staring in a shocked silence.

"Just our niece, very disturbed, meeting strangers upsets her, so we kept her upstairs." Uncle Vernon said, trying to gloss things over. "I'll deal with this, not to worry."

Mr. and Mrs. Mason returned to the dining room and Uncle Vernon leaned close to the Rose half.

"I warned you, girl." Uncle Vernon stated in a quiet and cold tone. "When this is all over you'll wish you'd not made a sound." Uncle Vernon handed her a mop and she started to clean up the mess, though the Harry and Rose being felt as if they were just going through the motions.

The owl was what ended his deal. Apparently, Mrs. Mason was mortally terrified of birds of all shapes and sizes, something that seemed quite ridiculous. Uncle Vernon, looking more furious than the Harry and Rose being could remember, brandished a letter at the Rose half and demanded, "Read it!"

She took it in trembling hands.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Potter,

We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine.

As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on either of your parts may lead to the offenders expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).

We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.

Enjoy your holidays! Yours sincerely,

Mafalda Hopkirk IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE Ministry of Magic

The Rose half stared at Uncle Vernon, who had a manic gleam in his eyes.

"You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside school. Forgot to mention it... Slipped your mind, I daresay..."

"Fine, then." The Rose half stated, moving toward Uncle Vernon as he moved toward her, his teeth bared. She glared into his eyes, then stated coldly, "We'll leave if you don't want us here."

"Nonsense, girl!" Uncle Vernon responded in a mad tone. "We'll make sure that you never return to that school again, we'll do what we have to and beat that unnaturalness out of you both this time!"

The Rose half made to dodge Uncle Vernon, who grabbed her by the hair. She didn't cry out in pain, but hit him instead.

"That does it, girl!" Uncle Vernon roared, returning the favor, hitting the side of her head so hard the Rose half saw stars. Uncle Vernon then dragged her up the stares and threw her into the room, then with a manic tone of voice, shouted, "You'll never go back, Potter's! And if you try and magic your way out of this one, you'll be expelled!" The door slammed behind the Rose half, who stood to her feet and stumbled to the bed, head pounding. As the Harry half lay next to her, the Harry and Rose being knew all hope was lost. Dobby had gotten what he'd wanted. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 The Magical Home

August 4, 1992.

The Harry and Rose being felt pangs of hunger as they stared through the bars on their window at the setting sun, feeling a hopelessness but also a deep anger. It wasn't likely they would remain in that room when the full moon came around. The Dursley's didn't give any sign of what they knew would come, so the Harry and Rose being imagined using the Rose half to break out during the full moon, which would probably be easy. That was one thing to look forward to. They grinned a little as they imagined Uncle Vernon's terrified face.

They moved their eyes from the setting son to Hedwig in her cage. She wasn't too pleased about her treatment so far, though the good thing was, she didn't blame them for it. The Harry and Rose being were certain to make sure she knew and understood that her position wasn't their fault. The sound of the cat-flap Uncle Vernon had placed in the door made them turn. The Rose half stood feeling dizzy, moving to the single bowl of soup and bringing it back to the Harry half. They barely had enough food to stay awake let alone move, and was hoping that would change before they died from starvation. It wasn't looking as if it would, though. They felt determined to find other arrangements for a guardian.

Carefully, the Harry and Rose being drank the soup, making sure each half received an equal portion of the little food they were allowed. They left some for Hedwig who looked reproachful when they dumped the soggy vegetables in the bottom of her food tray.

"It's no good avoiding it." The Harry and Rose being said grimly. "I know you don't like it, but it's all we've got."

After the Rose half put the empty bowl by the cat-flap, she lay down on the bed next to the Harry half, closing their eyes against the dizziness they felt. Someone would be sent to get them if they didn't show up at Hogwarts, they thought hopefully. Exhausted and angry at the Dursley's, they turned toward one another and hugged, slowly drifting off to sleep.

They dreamt they were locked in a cage at a zoo with a card reading, Magical Freaks, Take Your Peaks. People would pass bye and goggle at them as they lay, starving and weak on an uncomfortable bed of straw. Dobby was in the crowd, too, and they shouted out for help. He only looked at them sadly and shook his head. Voldemort was also there, laughing in a high cackle and telling them this was better, more satisfying than watching them die. The Dursley's appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at them. The Harry and Rose being felt hot fury that no one would leave them alone and opened their eyes. The Rose half jumped up, not quite taking everything in before shoving the window open and grabbing the bars.

"Stop it, stop." She hissed in a growl.

"Okay, but I thought you might like to be rescued." The voice of Ron Weasley said through the window.

The Rose half sank against the bars of the window, tears of welcome relief streaming down their faces.

"Ron!" She choked, trying to collect herself. "You came!"

"Course, mate." Ron responded with a grin.

The Rose half blinked as the Harry half stumbled out of bed to join her, grabbing her shoulders to help him stay upright. They stared with wide eyes as the full impact of what they saw hit them. Ron Weasley was outside the window in a floating, parked car. He sat in the back, while a grinning Fred and George Weasley were in the front.

"All right, Harry and Rose?" George asked.

"Better, a lot better now that you're here." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"What's been going on?" Ron asked. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles..."

"It wasn't me... How did he know?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"He works for the Ministry." Ron responded. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside of school."

"Looks like a spell to me." The Harry and Rose being replied, staring at the floating car.

"Oh, this doesn't count. We're only borrowing this, it's Dad's. We didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with..." Ron began.

"Again, it wasn't me." The Harry and Rose being stated. "Listen, I need you to tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursley's have locked me up. I dunno, get some help from someone, maybe Professor McGonagall."

"Like us?" Ron asked. "We've come to take you home with us."

"You can't get me out, you'll get a warning, possibly expelled." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"We don't need to." Ron replied as he glanced at Fred and George. "My brother's know a lot of tricks."

"Tie that around the bars." Fred said as he handed the Rose half a rope.

"If the Dursley's wake up, I'm dead." The Harry and Rose being said as the Rose half tied the rope tightly around one of the bars.

"Don't worry, and stand back." Fred said.

Fred started revving the car, which grew louder and louder. With a loud crunching sound, the bars were torn right out of the window as he drove straight up. Hedwig was remaining still and silent in her cage, perhaps realizing how important this was. The Rose half moved back to the window and spotted Ron hauling the bars into the car. They couldn't hear any sound from the Dursley's.

"Get in." Ron said after Fred backed the car as close as he could to the window.

"All my school things are in the cupboard under the stares, not here." The Harry and Rose being replied. "I can't go without them."

"No problem." George said from the front seat.

Fred and George climbed through the window and into the room. Immediately, George moved to the door and started to use a hairpin to pick the lock.

"A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick." Fred said. "We feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."

The door clicked, then swung open. The Harry and Rose being grinned.

"We'll get your trunk. You grab anything you need from your room and hand it to Ron." George whispered.

"Watch out for the bottom stair, it creaks." The Harry half whispered as the Rose half moved to start handing things to Ron.

Both then worked together to gather their items from the room and hand them to Ron. Hedwig's cage was last, then the Rose half went to help carry the trunk up the stairs. Uncle Vernon coughed and they felt icy dread. When they reached the room, Fred climbed into the car as the Rose half and George pushed from one end, Fred and Ron pulling it through from the other. Slowly, the trunk slid through the window and Uncle Vernon gave another cough.

"A bit more, one good push." Fred panted.

The Rose half and George shoved hard and the trunk slid into the vehicle from the window, landing on the back seat.

"Okay, let's go." George whispered.

He climbed through first, then the Rose half next. As the Harry half made to move, a footstep was heard outside the landing, the light clicked on, and the door was slammed open by Uncle Vernon.

He stood frozen in the doorway for a split second, then bellowed and dove for the Harry half, who had climbed on to the dresser and was clambering out the window. The Rose half grabbed him and held on tight, then Ron and Fred joined in the effort.

"Petunia!" Uncle Vernon roared. "There getting away! There getting away!"

With a heave from everyone, the Harry half slid into the car before Uncle Vernon could grab him. He slammed the door shut and the car shot toward the moon, accelerating into the air. They were free. Sighing with relief and exhaustion, the Harry and Rose being leaned against one another, then said, "Led Hedwig out will you? I'm sure she wants to fly."

Before they could hear anymore, they drifted off to sleep, still starving, weak, and exhausted from lack of food. But they were free, that was the important thing.

"Harry and Rose, hey. We're here."

The Harry and Rose being felt someone shaking them and blinked open their eyes, spotting Ron. They stared for a moment, then sat up and looked around, remembering what had happened. They grinned and looked up at Ron's house, which looked as if rooms had been added on to it in no particularly organized manner. It was very crooked. The only thing holding it up was probably magic. About five chimneys were on the roof, and a lopsided sign was in the ground near the entrance. It read, the burrow.

Around the front door was a pile of rubber boots and a rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard. Despite the somewhat desolate look of the entire place, it had a welcoming feel to it.

"It's not much." Ron said as they climbed from the car.

"It's wonderful." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Better than the Dursley's."

"Okay, here's the plan." Fred began. "We'll go upstairs really quietly, and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast. Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, Mum, look who turned up in the night! and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and Rose, and no one need ever know we flew the car."

"That's a terrible plan." The Harry and Rose being responded, spotting Mrs. Weasley, who was a short, plump woman.

The Weasley's turned and spotted her as well as Ron's face turned a nasty shade of green.

"Ah." Fred said.

"Oh, dear." George added.

She came to stop in front of them staring at the guilty faces of the Weasley's. The Harry and Rose being only looked drawn and tired, and had nothing to feel guilty about. In fact, they were rather excited to be at the Weasley home. They felt sorry for the Weasley's, though, who were likely going to be yelled at. For her part, Mrs. Weasley looked furious, wearing an apron with her wand sticking out of a pocket.

"So!" Mrs. Weasley stated furiously.

"Morning, Mum." George responded in what he thought was a bright tone.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a cold whisper.

"Sorry, mum, but we had to..." George began.

Though the three Weasley children were taller than their mother, they cowered at her expression of fury.

"Beds empty! No note! Car gone! You could have crashed! I've been out of my mind with worry! Did you care? Never as long as I've lived, you wait until your father gets home! We never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy!" Mrs. Weasley was shouting now and the Harry and Rose being carefully and quietly stepped back.

"Perfect Percy." Fred muttered.

"You could do with taking a leaf out of Percy's book!" Mrs. Weasley shouted as she poked Fred in the chest with her finger. "You could have died! You could have been seen! You could have lost your father his job! Out of all the irresponsible things you've ever done this has to be the most irresponsible one! This isn't some joke or a prank this is real life! How could you do this, do you like worrying me is that it? You must or I doubt very much you would have!"

Mrs. Weasley turned to the Harry and Rose being, who looked down quickly.

"I'm very pleased to see you, dears." Her voice was much gentler when she spoke to them. "Come in and have some breakfast."

As she turned and headed back into the house, the Harry and Rose being followed, both halves trembling a little from the hunger and weakness they felt. The kitchen was small and cramped, but welcoming as the rest of the house was. The Harry and Rose being sat down at a wooden table and gazed around, quite fascinated at the decor they saw.

The clock hanging on the wall facing them had no numbers and only one hand. Written around the face were things like, Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late. Many books were on the mantelpiece with strange titles they'd come to expect from those made in the wizarding world. A radio near the sink seemed to be playing and had announced that witching hour was coming, featuring a singing sorceress named Celestina Warbeck.

Mrs. Weasley was moving around the kitchen cooking breakfast, though was doing so somewhat forcefully and without the organization they were sure she usually used. They weren't surprised at this, since Mrs. Weasley was still quite angry with her sons. She continued to mutter things at them. When she reached the Harry and Rose being, she tipped some sausages on their plates.

"I don't blame you, dears." She assured. "Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday." She turned to her sons after putting a couple fried eggs to their plates. "But really, flying an illegal car halfway across the country-anyone could have seen you..."

When she flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, they started to wash themselves with gentle clinking sounds.

"It was cloudy, Mum." Fred said.

"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating." Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." The Harry half said a little awkwardly, resuming eating with the Rose half.

"You're very welcome, dear." She said, giving them a soft smile.

"Mum, they were starving him." George added.

The young girl the Harry and Rose being had seen on the platform at King's Cross entered the room in a night dress. She squealed and immediately left again after catching sight of the Harry and Rose being.

"That's Ginny, my younger sister." Ron said in a quiet voice. "She's been talking about you all summer."

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autographs, Harry and Rose." Fred said with a grin, but catching a look from Mrs. Weasley, bent his head over his plate again.

Nothing more was said until the Harry and Rose being had finished their plate. Still quite hungry, they asked, "May I have more, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Of course, dears." She responded kindly, then proceeded to quickly prepare another two plates for them.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." The Harry and Rose being said with a smile before they started to eat.

"Blimey, I'm tired." Fred announced as he set down his knife and fork a few minutes later, yawning. "I think I'll go to bed and..."

"You will not." Mrs. Weasley snapped. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me, they're getting completely out of hand again."

"Oh, Mum..." Fred began.

"And you, too." Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at George and Ron. She then turned her gaze to the Harry and Rose being and said, "You two can go up to bed if you like. You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car."

"Oh, I'd be glad to help." The Harry and Rose being said, feeling more awake after the fabulous meal. "I've never seen a de-gnoming before."

"You speak just like Fred and George sometimes." Mrs. Weasley said, looking fondly at the Harry and Rose being. "And while it's very sweet of you to want to help, it's dull work. Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject."

She pulled out a book entitled, Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. A picture of a man with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes grinned up at them. George groaned and Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him.

"Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden." He said.

"Oh, he is marvelous. He knows his household pests, all right, a wonderful book..."

"Mum fancies him." Fred said in an audible whisper.

"Don't be so ridiculous, Fred." Mrs. Weasley said. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."

The Weasley's yawned and grumbled as they headed outside, the Harry and Rose being following behind them eagerly, both halves feeling stronger now that they'd had a proper meal.

The garden was large, with a great deal of weeds, long grass, gnarled trees around the walls, plants the Harry and Rose being didn't recognize, and a green pond full of frogs.

"Muggles have garden gnomes, too." The Harry and Rose being remarked to Ron as they crossed the lawn.

"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes, like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods." Ron said, bent over with his head in a bush. There was a scuffling sound and he straightened up after the bush shook a little. "This is a gnome."

"Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" The gnome squealed in a high voice.

It was small, leathery looking, its head large and bald, looking exactly like a potato. He held it at arms length as it kicked out at him with horny feet. Grasping it around the ankles, he turned it upside down.

"Here's what you have to do." Ron said, then started to swing the gnome in circles. The Harry and Rose being looked shocked and he added, "It doesn't hurt them, just makes them dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnome holes."

He let go of its ankles and it flew twenty feet, landing on the other side of the hedge in a field.

"Pitiful." Fred said. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."

The Harry and Rose being quickly learned not to feel sorry for the gnomes. The Rose half made to drop one over the hedge until it sank its teeth into her finger. She swung it hard and it flew quite far.

"Wow, Rose, that must have been eighty feet at least!" Fred said with a grin. "I probably couldn't beat that!"

"A challenge!" The Harry and Rose being responded with a grin. "The Rose half's stronger than all of you, I doubt you'll beat her, but we shall see."

"So Harry and Rose, what happened with the spell and all, anyway?" Ron asked as more gnomes came to investigate what was happening.

"Not too bright are they?" The Harry and Rose being asked, grabbing some and swinging them round until they released them.

"Nope." Ron replied. "Quit stalling and tell me, I want to know."

"Yeah, tell us." Fred said, grabbing about three by the ankles and throwing them over.

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being said, smiling a little. "This house-elf named Dobby came to visit me on my birthday. He tried to warn me not to go back to Hogwarts, said something dangerous was going to happen. He was blocking all my mail, that's why I couldn't reply. He was the one that levitated a pudding and that's what the ministry was alerted to."

"Very fishy." Fred responded, watching for more gnomes.

"Definitely dodgy." George added in agreement. "He wouldn't even tell you who was plotting all this stuff?"

"He couldn't, I guess." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Every time he almost let something slip he shouldn't have, he started banging his head against the wall."

Fred and George glanced at each other, then Fred said, "Wow, Ron, beat your last record. Anyway, house-elves have powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts, someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"

"Yeah, Draco Malfoy." The Harry and Rose being responded as the Rose half let another gnome fly about seventy feet, shooting Fred and George a grin. "Beat that!"

"That wouldn't be Lucius Malfoy's son, would it?" George asked as he tossed another four gnome's over the hedge. They seemed to be swarming now.

"Maybe, it's not too common." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Why?"

They grabbed about eight gnome's, four with each half, swinging them hard over the hedge. The Rose half got hers much further than the Harry half, of course, shooting Fred, George and Ron a grin.

"I've heard Dad talking about him." George said. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."

"And when You-Know-Who disappeared, Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung... Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle." George added.

The Harry and Rose being weren't surprised to hear this, as they'd heard roomers like that about Malfoy's family before. Draco Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look kind and thoughtful in comparison.

"I don't know if the Malfoy's own a house-elf or not." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family that's rich." Fred responded.

"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing." George added. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden, like these here. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house..."

The Harry and Rose being could see Malfoy strutting around a large manor, ordering the family servant to stop them from going back to Hogwarts. It seemed exactly like the thing Malfoy would do.

"I'll tell you what." Ron said as he grabbed about six gnomes by the ankles and started swinging them around. "I'm glad we came to get you even though Mum's mad at us. I thought Errol wasn't getting the letters to you at first, I was getting pretty worried."

"Who's Errol?" The Harry and Rose being asked, the Rose half letting about six gnomes fly over the hedge.

"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes, the owl Percy got when he became a prefect, but Percy said he needed him." Ron said.

"Wouldn't have been any use, I suppose." The Harry and Rose being replied. "What does your dad do at the Ministry?"

"He works in the most boring department, The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office." Ron replied as the five of them watched the gnomes walking off, grabbing some stragglers.

"What's that?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Oh, it's to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare, Dad was working overtime for weeks."

"What happened?" The Harry and Rose being asked curiously, grabbing a couple gnomes and throwing them into the field.

"The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place. One man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose. Dad was going frantic, it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office, and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up."

"Oh, wow." The Harry and Rose being replied. "What about the car, though, it flies."

Fred laughed and said, "Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest. It drives Mum mad."

"I can imagine." The Harry and Rose being responded. No more gnomes had come out of their holes and they looked around the garden carefully along with Ron, Fred and George. "Is that all of them?"

"Yeah, but they'll be back." Ron responded. "They love it here... Dad's too soft with them, he thinks they're funny..."

They heard a door slam, which was probably the front door.

"He's back, dad's home!" George said.

They hurried back into the house, spotting Mr. Weasley slumped in a chair with his eyes closed and his glasses removed. He was thin and going bald, but the hair he had was as red as his children. His green robes were dusty and warn.

"What a night." He muttered as he groped for the tea pot. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned..."

After he drank deeply from his tea, he sighed, everyone sitting down around him.

"Find anything, dad?" Fred asked eagerly.

"All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle." Mr. Weasley said as he yawned. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness..."

"Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" George asked.

"Just Muggle-baiting. Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it... Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking, they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face... But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe..."

Mr. Weasley was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley, who's voice was cool with anger, and who was holding a poker like a sword.

"Like cars, for instance?" She asked.

Mr. Weasley's eyes sprang open and he looked at her, a guilty look on his face.

"C-cars, Molly, dear?" He asked with some nervousness in his voice.

"Yes, Arthur, cars." Mrs. Weasley responded with her eyes flashing with fury. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."

Mr. Weasley blinked, then said carefully, "Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if, er, he maybe would have done better to, urn, tell his wife the truth... There's a loophole in the law, you'll find... As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't..."

"Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry and Rose arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"

Mr. Weasley looked around and jumped as he spotted the Harry and Rose being, staring.

"Is it the Potter's? Very pleased to meet you. Ron's told us so much about..."

"Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!" Mrs. Weasley shouted furiously. "What have you got to say about that, eh?"

"Did you really?" Mr. Weasley asked eagerly. "Did it go all right?" Mr. Weasley faltered as Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed in an even greater fury. "I mean, that, that was very wrong, boys, very wrong indeed..."

"Let's leave them to it." Ron muttered to the Harry and Rose being. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."

As Mrs. Weasley's fury grew, they left the kitchen and entered a narrow hallway that led to an uneven staircase. It twisted and turned its way up the various levels. On the third, the Harry and Rose being spotted a pair of bright brown eyes through a door that was open a crack. It then closed with a snap.

"Ginny." Ron replied. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally."

They climbed two more floors until they reached a door with pealing paint. A small plaque on the door read, Ronald's room. They entered, the Rose half ducking, the Harry half's head almost touching the ceiling. Almost everything in the room was a violent shade of orange and the walls were covered in posters of the same seven witches and wizards. They wore bright orange robes and carried broomsticks, waving energetically.

"Your Quidditch team?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"The Chudley Cannons." Ron replied, pointing to his orange comforter which had two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball on it. "Ninth in the league."

The Harry and Rose being caught sight of Scabbers, fat and gray as they remembered him. He was resting in a patch of son. The Rose half stepped closer and caught sight of his missing front toe and a curious thought passed through the Harry and Rose being's mind. Could people become animals somehow? They didn't discount anything in the realm of the magical world. But even if they could, it didn't prove that the rat was a person. Something nagged at their mind, though, but they couldn't quite remember what, or even why they had the thought of people becoming animals.

"Ron, how long have you had Scabbers again?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "I mean, had him in your family?"

"I'd say about eleven years. Why?" Ron asked.

"And he's just a rat?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Nothing magical, if there are such things as magical rats, anyway."

"Yeah. Why?" Ron responded.

The Harry and Rose being glanced at Scabbers, then looked away. They didn't notice his eyes opening to look at them.

"Just curious." The Harry and Rose being said. "Guess magical rats live longer than Muggle ones. I suppose that's his power, increased longevity."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Ron replied as the Harry and Rose being moved to the window, gazing down into the yard where several gnomes were sneaking their way through the hedge and back into the garden. As they looked back at Ron, he seemed almost nervous, as if waiting for their opinion.

"It's a bit small. Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging on the pipes and groaning..." Ron spoke quickly.

The Harry and Rose being grinned widely, then said, "Ron, this is the best house I've ever been. I'd take it any day over the Dursley's."

Ron's ears went pink and he muttered, "Well, glad you like it."

"Of course I do." The Harry and Rose being said, the Rose half hugging him making his face grow pink along with his ears. The Harry and Rose being chuckled.

That evening at dinner, the Harry and Rose being were pulled aside by Mrs. Weasley, who smiled reassuringly at them.

"You're not in trouble, but I'd like to discuss your sleeping arrangements since it's clear you'll be staying with us the rest of the summer." She said kindly.

"I don't mind sleeping with Ron." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Well, Rose, dear, you know it's not appropriate for you to sleep in a boys room." Mrs. Weasley said.

The Harry and Rose being quietly sighed and frowned a little.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm one person. It's hard to accept, I know, Ron had trouble. He only accepted it fully, I think, at the end of our first year." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"I know how you think of yourself." Mrs. Weasley responded. "Ron told us about that. But, Rose, it's inappropriate for you to sleep in Ron's room with Harry."

"If I'm not with my other half, I can't sleep." The Rose half responded after a moment. "Trust me, I tried it at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore made other arrangements."

"He may do that, but I won't." Mrs. Weasley responded. "I don't want you sleeping with the boys, Rose. I'm sure Ginny would be happy to let you sleep in her room."

The Harry and Rose being sighed, then stated, "Okay, then, but I won't get any sleep. And I'll warn you now, if that goes on too long, I start snapping at people and getting a temper like I do on the full moon."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, dears." Mrs. Weasley said in a placating manner. "You just have to adjust."

"If you insist." The Harry and Rose being said.

"I do." Mrs. Weasley replied. No doubt, her insistence was because she wanted to protect Ron. They didn't blame her.

"Um, Harry?" Ron asked hesitantly as the Harry half lay on a cot in Ron's room.

Ginny, for her part, hadn't said anything, only squeaked and turned over, facing away from the Rose half who lay on another cot which was in her room. It was silent in Ginny's room after that and the Rose half lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes, Ron?" The Harry half asked.

"I thought you couldn't sleep without Rose." Ron responded. "I mean, the Rose half."

The Harry and Rose being grinned a little, glad Ron was starting to understand them better.

"I can't." The Harry half replied.

"Then why isn't she with you?" Ron asked. "It might be a little uncomfortable, but... She already sees everything you do anyway, right?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, Ron." The Harry half said. "She doesn't see what I do, she is me and I'm her, but that doesn't even describe it well because we're one person, but with two bodies. It's hard to put into words."

"But basically she knows and sees what you do. So it wouldn't be any different than having her here anyway." Ron said.

"If that helps you understand it, the simple answer is yes." The Harry half said. Ron looked embarrassed, since the Harry half had seen him change earlier that night.

"Well I don't see why your other half isn't here." Ron muttered. "The Rose half of you."

"Mrs. Weasley is probably trying to protect you." The Harry half said.

"From what?" Ron asked.

"Well, Ron, if you really want to know I'll tell you." The Harry half said with a grin, looking mischievous. "Girls and boys both start getting these things called hormones, then they start thinking about each other and wanting to be with one another, to kiss, and touch, and..."

Ron threw a pillow at him, his face bright red.

"Okay, I don't need to hear anymore." Ron said, burying his face in his pillow. After a few minutes, he rose his head and said quietly, "Harry?"

"Yes?" The Harry half asked, gazing at the ceiling as he lay on his back, mirroring the Rose half's position.

"Have you ever felt that way about your other body, I mean... Man this sounds strange... Are you attracted to yourself or what?" Ron asked.

"Well, the Rose half is very pretty." The Harry half replied. "The Harry half, me, is looking more attractive. I've not done anything I told you, it might be strange but it feels like it wouldn't be at the same time. It's very complicated, and I don't know if a relationship of intimacy would be taboo in any way. It sounds odd to think of having a relationship with myself, but it feels like it's natural at the same time."

"That just sounds too weird." Ron said after a long moment, staring at the Harry half. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep. Good luck, mate."

"Thanks, Ron." The Harry half replied. It wasn't until Ron's snores were heard that the Harry and Rose being closed their eyes and attempted, unsuccessfully, to sleep.

August 6, 1992.

"Rough night, dears?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she gave the Harry and Rose being a second helping of food.

They blinked and gazed up at her, exhausted.

"I didn't sleep at all." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Isn't there something else I could do, Mrs. Weasley? Sleep somewhere else, maybe?"

"You could sleep on the couch, but I doubt you'd find that as comfortable." Mrs. Weasley replied. She then added in a low voice, "It's more that I'm trying to protect Ron and Ginny, and while I don't approve of you sleeping together, I can't stop either of you, though I don't prefer what you want to do. I'm not your guardian."

"I understand, Mrs. Weasley." The Harry and Rose being responded with a sigh. "But if we slept on the couch, or in some other area that people walked through, it's more public, you could see that I just want to sleep. That's all."

"All right, dears. We'll try that tonight, then." Mrs. Weasley said.

The Harry and Rose being decided to work on some of their homework that day, though Ron, Fred and George wanted to play games and do other things. Ron commented after they told him their decision, "Just like Hermione, always working on homework first."

"If I get it done now, more time to enjoy later. And besides, it'll probably only take a few days for me."

"Yeah yeah, go on and brag about how you can do things faster since you've got two bodies, not like the rest of us people with only one." Ron responded in a grumpy sort of way, but was grinning.

That evening, the Harry and Rose being lay on a bed Mrs. Weasley had conjured for them, though it was little more than a mattress, sheets, and pillows. They didn't care, though, this was far more comfortable than sleeping without a half of them. Mrs. Weasley tucked them in and looked down at them with a smile.

"Are you comfortable, dears, do you need another blanket?" She asked.

"No, Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine." The Harry and Rose being responded, hugging. "Thanks for doing this."

"It's no problem, dears." Mrs. Weasley responded. It didn't take the Harry and Rose being long to fall asleep, and unnoticed to them, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley quietly came to check on them throughout the night. Eventually, they were satisfied that their intentions were nothing but innocent, leaving to get uninterrupted sleep themselves. 


	16. Chapter 16

A.N.  
In this chapter is more of a demonstration of how Harry and Rose view and interpret information as a single being. There's more of this in later chapters, too, and I tried my best to make sure the different views could be told apart. It's probably going to be confusing, though, but I did the best I could to try and limit that.

Enjoy!

Chapter 16 The Second Year Shopping Trip

August 7, 1992.

The Harry and Rose being stretched and blinked their eyes open, waking from the sound of footsteps. As they carefully stood, they gazed around to see someone in the kitchen. Carefully, they walked toward it and spotted Mrs. Weasley starting to cook breakfast. As they entered, they gazed around and felt their faint anger. The full moon was near, then, they thought.

"Good morning, dears." Mrs. Weasley said as she smiled at both of them.

"Morning, Mrs. Weasley." The Harry and Rose being responded with a grin.

"Sleep well?" She asked.

"Very well, thanks." The Harry and Rose being responded.

As the Harry half gazed into the mirror over the mantle piece, he examined his appearance. It was odd to do so through a mirror, though on occasion, the Harry and Rose being would use them. The Rose half was moving closer to Mrs. Weasley, watching with fascination as she used her wand while cooking. Quite suddenly, the mirror shouted to the Harry half, "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!" He jumped.

"Ah, nothing to worry about, Harry dear." Mrs. Weasley said with a smile.

"It's certainly different than the Dursley home, that's for sure." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Compared to them, this is chaos, wonderful chaos."

And so it was. While the Dursley's home was ordered, the Weasley home wasn't. The Harry and Rose being liked it. Things they didn't think were normal seemed perfectly so at the Weasley home, such as the ghoul in the attic howling and dropping pipes whenever things were too quiet, or the small explosions from Fred and George's room. More than any of this, though, they liked that no one hated them. In fact, Mrs. Weasley was always fussing over the state of their socks and clothes, telling Rose she'd look prettier in women's clothes rather than what she wore now, wanting to help her with her hair, or even give them hugs and affectionately ruffle the Harry half's hair. She always tried to give them fourth helpings at every meal and insisted that they not help with cleaning anything up after meals, something they were used to doing at the Dursley's.

Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, always wanted the Harry or Rose half to sit next to him at meals to explain how Muggle items worked. He was fascinated by simple things the Harry and Rose being took for granted, like electricity, the telephone, and even the postal service.

It was August 12 that they received their letters from Hogwarts. Since it was close to the full moon, the Harry and Rose being were short tempered and irritable. Used to this, Ron casually brushed it off. Fred and George eventually got into the spirit of things, though listened to Ron, who kept them from pushing things too far. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wanted to help them through it, but they knew that wasn't something that could be done. Eventually, they simply settled for keeping an eye on them.

When they entered the kitchen that morning, Ginny knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter after catching sight of the Harry and Rose being, who sat down and took the toast Mrs. Weasley offered them.

"Letters from school." Mr. Weasley said as he handed them out, the Harry and Rose being taking theirs and opening them quickly.

Since nothing Mr. Weasley said applied to them, they focused on reading their letters. They were told once again to catch the train on September 1. The second year book list was primarily authored by Gilderoy Lockhart. The Harry and Rose being frowned.

"That lot won't come cheap. Lockhart's books are really expensive..." George said as he glanced at his parents.

"Well, we'll manage." Mrs. Weasley replied, though looked a little worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."

Percy walked into the room at that moment, already dressed, his prefect badge pinned to his vest.

"Morning, all. Lovely day." He said briskly.

He sat down in the only remaining chair at the table, then leapt up and pulled what looked to be a very elderly owl that seemed to be losing its feathers from the chair, a letter under its wing.

"Errol!" Ron exclaimed as he took the letter. "Finally, he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursley's."

He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to put him on it without success, so put him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." After tearing open Hermione's letter, he read it out loud.

"'Dear Ron, and Harry and Rose being if you're there,  
"'I hope everything went all right and that Harry and Rose are okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get them out, Ron, because that would get Harry and Rose into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry and Rose are all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, because I think another delivery might finish your one off.  
"'I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course' How can she be?" Ron asked in horror. "We're on vacation! 'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?  
"'Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. Love from Hermione.'"

The Harry and Rose being wasn't worried about their school work, since they'd spent that week finishing everything they had, despite Ron, Fred and George giving them a hard time. Percy was the only one that seemed to approve of their studying, and judging from the letter, Hermione would as well.

"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too." Mrs. Weasley said as she started to clear the table. "What are you all up to today?"

"Going up to the paddock to practice some Quidditch." Ron said with an eager grin.

"Just remember not to fly too high." Mrs. Weasley reminded.

"We know, Mum." Fred responded as the Harry and Rose being stood and moved to get their broom. After a moment, the Rose half turned and asked, "Do you want to come, Ginny?"

Ginny blushed deeply, her face the color of her hair as she stared at the Harry half. She shook her head a little and hurried off, tripping over the stairs.

"Man, mate, you've got a way with my sister." Ron said jokingly.

"Hmm." The Harry and Rose being responded with a little bit of a scowl, heading out the back door with Ron, Fred and George. "Well, I don't see what the big deal is, why she's got that crush on the Harry half, who shouldn't even be famous in the first place. It's pathetic."

"Well, it's a little strange, really." Ron responded.

The Harry and Rose being had no sympathy for Ginny at this point, it was more irritation than anything else.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly, then muttered under their breath so only the Rose half could hear, "Stupid crush from a silly little girl."

The paddock was surrounded by trees that blocked it from being seen from the village below, though the Harry and Rose being didn't understand why more magic wasn't used to block more of its height from being seen. It was fine all the same, though. Instead of Quidditch balls, they threw apples to catch. The Harry and Rose half took turns on the Nimbus Two Thousand along with everyone else. Something that didn't often happen was the Harry and Rose being flying together, but Fred had gotten Charlie Weasley's old broom so the Rose half could fly. Though the Weasley's brooms were slower, the Harry and Rose being enjoyed flying, their deep rage calming at the feeling. The Rose half noticed Ginny Weasley watching them, peaking over the hill and ducking down when she was seen. They sighed at that and kept playing, trying there best to enjoy their time.

Fred and George speculated on Percy Weasley, who they said wasn't acting like himself, and wondered curiously how they were going to pay for all their school things. The Harry and Rose being guessed this was a concern for the Weasley's every year and felt somewhat awkward at the amount of money they knew they had in their vault. They didn't know how much the Weasley's had, but judging from the worried looks and conversation, it wasn't much, probably just enough to keep them going. Despite that, they were willing to take a loving family over a fortune. Money wasn't everything, after all, and they'd give anything to have their parents back.

August 19, 1992.

The Harry and Rose being stared at the flower pot Mrs. Weasley had offered them, gazing at the powder within. Uncertainly, they asked, "What are we supposed to do?"

"The Harry and Rose being have never traveled by Floo powder." Ron said suddenly. "Sorry, Harry and Rose, I forgot."

"Never? Then how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"Apparated with Professor McGonagall." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Well, that's certainly quicker for three, but Floo is better for all of us." Mrs. Weasley explained.

"They'll be okay, Mum. Watch us first." Fred said.

He took a pinch of the glittering powder from the flower pot, stepped up to the fire, then threw them into the flames. With a roar, the fire rose higher than Fred and turned emerald green. He then stepped into it and shouted, "Diagon Alley!" He vanished.

"You must speak clearly, dears." Mrs. Weasley explained as George put his hand into the pot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate..."

"The right grate?" The Harry and Rose being asked with confusion.

"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly..." Mrs. Weasley began.

"They'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss." Mr. Weasley said as he got some of the powder for himself.

"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, that's a laugh." The Harry and Rose being responded with a grin. "I doubt they'd care at all. Dudley might get a laugh out of it if I got lost, but that's it."

"Well... all right... you go after Arthur, Harry dear." Mrs. Weasley told the Harry and Rose being. "And you after him, Rose. Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going..."

"And keep your elbows tucked in." Ron added.

"And your eyes shut." Mrs. Weasley continued. "The soot, you know."

"Don't fidget, or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace." Ron advised.

"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George." Mrs. Weasley stated.

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being said nervously. The Harry half stepped forward and took a pinch of the Floo powder. Taking a deep breath, he scattered the powder into the flames and stepped into them.

To their surprise, the fire felt like a warm breeze. Opening his mouth, the Harry half immediately swallowed a mouth full of hot ash. Coughing, he said, "D-D-Dia-gon All-ey."

As the Harry half vanished and began to wildly spin, feeling as if he was being sucked down a giant drain, the Rose half spotted Mrs. Weasley looking concerned.

"Oh, dear." She said in a worried tone.

"I-I'll go." The Rose half stammered, their heart pounding as the Harry half closed his eyes tight, hearing a roaring in his ears.

"Be careful, Rose dear, and speak very clearly." The Rose half heard Mrs. Weasley state.

Something hard knocked the Harry half's elbow and he tucked them in, still spinning as the Rose half shakily grabbed some of the Floo powder and stepped forward, tossing it into the fire. The green flames enveloped her as the Harry half felt as if cold hands were slapping his face, squinting his eyes open and staring at a stream of fireplaces passing.

"Diagon Alley!" The Rose half shouted.

She began the same ride and tucked in her elbows, her eyes squinting as the Harry half fell face down on cold stone, the bridge of his glasses snapping. As the Harry half stumbled carefully to his feet, the Rose half felt the cold hands slapping her face before she tumbled from the fire place and fell flat on her face. Shaking, the Harry half stared around him, holding his broken glasses to his face as Mr. Weasley helped the Rose half to stand.

"The Harry half's somewhere else." The Rose half said, trembling a little and gazing around the somewhat familiar surroundings of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Do you know where?" The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley ask as Ron came out of the fire.

"Rose, glad to see you here, mate." The Rose half heard Ron say.

"You too." The Rose half responded as Mr. Weasley brushed ash and soot from her hair and clothes.

"Where's Harry?" The Rose half heard Ron ask as Percy came out, then Ginny, then Mrs. Weasley after her.

The Harry and Rose being saw through the Harry half many items that weren't in any shop they were familiar with. A nearby glass case held what looked to be a withered hand sitting on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Masks seemed to be glaring evilly down from the walls. Human bones lay on the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. The dark, narrow street that was seen through the window definitely wasn't Diagon Alley.

"I don't know, some shop on a dark and narrow street." The Rose half stated as Mrs. Weasley started fussing over her immediately.

"Oh, dear, I'm so glad you're all right." The Rose half heard her say.

The Harry half made his way swiftly and silently toward the door as the Rose half accepted a tight hug from Mrs. Weasley.

"We've got to go find the Harry half." The Rose half heard her say after pulling away.

The Harry half saw two people appear on the other side of the glass, one being Draco Malfoy. The Harry half remained silent but the Rose half groaned.

"Malfoy's there." She said as the Harry half looked quickly around and entered a cabinet to his left, leaving the door open a crack.

The Harry half heard a bell clang inside the shop and Malfoy entered, followed by who was no doubt his father. They seemed to have similar features.

"If you can't tell us where Harry is, dear, we'll have to find him ourselves. Quickly, quickly!" The Rose half heard Mrs. Weasley say as they moved through the Leaky Cauldron.

"The Harry half can find his way to me, it's natural." The Rose half said quietly to Ron and Mrs. Weasley, who still looked quite worried.

"Good." The Rose half heard her say as the Harry half heard Malfoy's father ring a bell and speak to Draco. "That'll help."

"Touch nothing, Draco." The Harry half heard Malfoy's father state.

The Harry half saw Malfoy reaching for the glass eye as the Rose half exited into the walled courtyard, Mr. Weasley tapping the brick that would allow them entry. The Harry half then heard Malfoy state, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."

"I said I would buy you a racing broom." The Harry half heard his father respond as he drummed his fingers on the counter, the Rose half seeing the archway to Diagon Alley appear.

"We're getting closer to the Harry half, wherever he is." The Rose half indicated as they stepped through.

"Then he can't be far, is he?" The Rose half heard Mrs. Weasley ask worriedly.

"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" The Harry half heard Malfoy ask irritably.

"No, not far." The Rose half replied. She added confidently, "The Harry half and I could find each other easily, like you finding any body part of yours with your eyes closed."

Meanwhile, Malfoy was still speaking, the Harry half hearing him say, "Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he's famous, famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead..."

"That's really interesting, mate." The Rose half heard Ron say, though the Harry and Rose being wondered if he was really as curious as he appeared to be, at the same moment, watching Malfoy through the Harry half as he examined a shelf full of skulls through the crack in the cabinet door.

"Everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick..." The Harry half heard Malfoy continue, the Rose half snickering.

"Unbelievable, Malfoy prattles on and on about famous Harry Potter." The Rose half said, grinning at Ron, who grinned back as they hurried down Diagon Alley.

At the same time, the Harry half saw Malfoy's father give him a quelling look and added, "You have told me this at least a dozen times already. And I would remind you that it is not-prudent to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear, ah, Mr. Borgin."

As Malfoy's father spoke, the Rose half heard Ron add, "You're sure handy to have around. One half can listen, the other half can tell us what's happening."

"Mr. Weasley, do you know a Mr. Borgin?" The Rose half asked as they sprinted down the street.

"Borgin and Burkes." The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley respond almost at once. "We don't want to be seen there, but under the circumstances... I'll get Harry."

At the same moment, the Harry half heard Mr. Borgin, a stooping man with greasy hair, speak in an oily voice saying, "Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again.

"Where?" The Rose half asked. "Where is that?"

"Knockturn Alley." The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley respond. Mrs. Weasley gasped. "Pay attention, Rose, and let me know if anything at all happens to Harry. Come with me."

"Arthur!" The Rose half heard Mrs. Weasley shout frantically as she ran to Mr. Weasley's side.

"I'm already there Mrs. Weasley, don't fret!" The Rose half added as she clutched Mr. Weasley's arm, sprinting off with him and gazing at him oddly.

The Harry half heard Mr. Borgin continue at the same moment. "Delighted- and young Master Malfoy, too-charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced..."

The Rose half then asked, "Mr. Weasley, do you pay attention to what happens to your hand?" The Harry and Rose being had remembered him telling them to let him know if anything was happening to the Harry half.

The Harry half heard Malfoy's father say, "I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling."

"Of course." The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley reply in a matter-of-fact tone as they headed toward Knockturn Alley.

The Harry half heard Mr. Borgin state, "Selling?" The smile faded from his face a little.

"What's going on in the shop, Rose?" The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley ask in an urgent tone.

"You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids." The Harry half heard Malfoy say at the same moment.

"Oh, Malfoy worried about the raids. He wants to sell some of his items to Mr. Borgin, he just unrolled a scroll for him to read." The Rose half replied.

At the same moment, the Harry half heard Malfoy's father speaking. "I have a few-ah-items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call..."

"Is Harry all right?" The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley ask in a worried tone as they moved faster.

The Harry half could see Mr. Borgin reading the list and the Rose half gazed at Mr. Weasley's worried face, responding, "A little bruised from the trip, broken glasses, but fine otherwise."

"I hope he finds his way to us before we get there." The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley say.

The Harry half heard Mr. Borgin say to Mr. Malfoy, "The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?" Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.

At the same moment, the Rose half said, "He will when he's able to do so. The Harry half's in a cabinet, hiding."

"Good." The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley state as they turned down a dark and dingy street.

The Harry half heard Mr. Malfoy speak at the same moment. "I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act, no doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it."

"We're here." The Rose half heard Mr. Weasley say, pushing the door open.

The Harry and Rose being were glad to be much closer together now. Usually, they didn't enjoy being apart, but sometimes, it wasn't avoidable.

"Well, well." Mr. Malfoy said as he turned to gaze at Mr. Weasley and the Rose half, both of them looking quickly around.

"I hear, Mr. Malfoy, that you're selling some items here today." Mr. Weasley responded in a cool tone, then added to Rose, "Get Harry, don't touch anything else."

"Mr. Weasley, he can walk." The Rose half said in an amused tone as the Harry half pushed the cabinet door open and carefully walked out, the Rose half watching him as he confidently walked toward her, both halves looking relieved.

"How about that, Potter?" Draco Malfoy asked snidely, staring at the Harry half covered in soot and holding his broken glasses to his face.

"Now, now, Draco." Mr. Malfoy stated in a chiding tone.

"Not to worry, Mr. Malfoy, I only came to collect Harry. We'll be on our way." As he spoke, Mr. Weasley took out his wand and tapped Harry's glasses, repairing them before running his wand over him to clean all the ash and soot off his clothes.

"I should hope so." Mr. Malfoy responded.

"Come, Harry, Rose, let's not stay here." Mr. Weasley said.

The Harry and Rose being grasped hands and quickly followed Mr. Weasley from the shop. As they hurried down the narrow street, then entered Diagon Alley, the Harry and Rose being sighed with relief, then grinned. What an adventure! They felt excitement as they moved toward Gringotts, then spotted the familiar bushy hair of Hermione along with who was no doubt her parents, the other Weasley's waiting in front of Gringotts and looking quite relieved as they approached.

"Excellent, Harry, simply marvelous!" Fred said, clapping the Harry half on the shoulder.

"We've never been to Knockturn Alley." George added.

"And you'll not go, either." Mrs. Weasley added coldly, glaring at Mr. Weasley.

"Don't be mad at him please, Mrs. Weasley." The Rose half said. "It was practical to bring me along, I could find the Harry half easily."

Mrs. Weasley's glare softened a little.

"Don't do it again." She said strictly. "Come then, let's get inside and get our money."

"Ah, Muggles!" Mr. Weasley said with delight as he spotted Hermione's parents, the group entering Gringotts. "We must have a drink some time! you're going to change Muggle money, I take it?"

Mr. and Mrs. Granger nodded, looking a little nervous as they looked around.

"Meet you back here, Hermione." Ron said as the Harry and Rose being, along with the Weasley's, were led to their vaults.

The Harry and Rose being felt dread and discomfort as they stared at the Weasley's vault. There was only a very small amount of gold within, hardly anything compared to what they had. They felt even worse when they reached the vault of the Harry half, the Rose half moving as quickly as she could to pile coins into two bags before hurrying back, the Harry and Rose being blushing a deep red and shifting with nervous discomfort, feeling vaguely ill.

Once they were outside on the marble steps, they separated. Percy muttered something about needing a new quill. Fred and George spotted their friend Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley was taking Ginny to a second hand robes shop and Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Granger's to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks." Mrs. Weasley announced. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" She shouted after Fred and George.

The Harry and Rose being, Ron, and Hermione headed down the street, happily slurping some ice cream that the Harry and Rose being had purchased for them and examining the windows of the shops they passed. They purchased some quills, parchment and ink, meeting up with Fred, George, and Lee in Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. They found Percy in a tiny junk shop reading a book titled, Prefects Who Gained Power.

"A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers." Ron read from the back cover. "Sounds fascinating..."

"Go away." Percy snapped in reply.

"he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out... He wants to be Minister of Magic." Ron told the Harry and Rose being as they left him to read his book.

They noticed a large crowd gathered in front of Flourish and Blotts as they headed for it an hour later. The Harry and Rose being gazed up at a banner stretched across the upper windows.

GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME today 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

"We can actually meet him! I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!" Hermione squealed.

"So?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "I don't know him, big deal, and honestly Hermione, you're acting like a star struck fool."

Hermione only huffed and said nothing, though her cheeks did go a little pink. As they drew closer, the Harry and Rose being noticed the crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. They squeezed into the shop with everyone else and got The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 before making their way to where Mr. and Mrs. Granger were standing with the rest of the Weasley's.

"Oh, there you are, good." Mrs. Weasley said, sounding breathless as she patted her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute..."

"Aren't you enamored?" The Harry and Rose being grinned at Mrs. Weasley, who seemed not to have heard them, or more likely, was too preoccupied with wanting to see him to notice.

Gilderoy Lockhart slowly came into view. He was sitting at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, which were winking and flashing dazzling white teeth at the crowd. The real one wore robes of blue that matched his eyes, and a pointed wizards hat at an angle on his wavy blond hair. A short, irritable man was moving around taking photographs, a puff of smoke and a blinding flash being emitted from the camera every time he took one.

"Out of the way, there." He snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. ""This is for the Daily Prophet..."

"Big deal." Ron said as he rubbed his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.

Lockhart heard him and looked up, gazing at him. His eyes then spotted the Harry half, and behind him, the Rose half. She only earned a glance, but the Harry half earned a stare.

"Great." The Harry and Rose being groaned as Lockhart leapt up.

"It can't be Harry Potter!" He nearly shouted.

"Thanks, Ron." The Harry and Rose being said, shooting him a playful grin before they frowned. The crowd was whispering and pointing, and Lockhart was pushing his way through to get to the Harry half. When he reached him, he grabbed his arm and pulled him to the front, the Rose half sighing with resignation.

"Everywhere I go..." She mumbled. "I really hate this."

The crowd was applauding and the Harry and Rose being's faces burned as the photographer took pictures of Lockhart shaking his hand madly, smoke wafting over the Weasley's, Granger's, and the Rose half, who stared on.

"Nice big smile Harry!" Lockhart called enthusiastically. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."

When he finally let the Harry half's hand go, his fingers were numb from being gripped so tightly. The Rose half watched him try and move back to the Weasley's, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulder and clamped him to his side. At that, the Rose half pushed her way toward them and Lockhart beamed.

"Excellent, excellent!" He shouted, and as the Rose half was within range, grabbed her, too. The Harry and Rose being blushed. "Stand right here next to Harry, that's it."

Lockhart waved a hand for silence as he spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!"

The Harry and Rose being mentally frowned, standing looking uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"When young Harry and his soul mate, Rose here, stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, they only wanted to buy my autobiography-which I shall be happy to present them now, free of charge!"

The crowd applauded again and Lockhart gave the Harry half a little shake so his glasses slipped to the end of his nose, the Rose half pushing them back on to his face so he could see.

"They had no idea "that they would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. Them and their schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Lockhart continued.

The crowd cheered and clapped some more. The Harry half was presented with all of Lockhart's books, staggering a little under their weight. The Rose half held hers with ease and the Harry and Rose being made their way to the edge of the room, Ginny standing next to her cauldron.

"You have these." The Harry half muttered as he dumped them into her cauldron, the Rose half gazing around and catching the eye of Draco Malfoy, who sneered.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter's?" Malfoy stated. "Famous Harry Potter and the scarlet woman, Rose. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave them alone, they didn't want all that!" Ginny spoke up for the first time in front of the Harry and Rose being, glaring at Malfoy.

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend, not that you need one with your little scarlet woman." Malfoy stated in a drawl as he stared at the Harry half. Ginny blushed deeply as Ron and Hermione came over, clutching Lockhart's books in their arms. The Harry and Rose being scowled coldly and glared hard at Malfoy.

"Oh, it's you. Bet you're surprised to see Harry and Rose here, eh?" Ron asked as he stared at Malfoy like he was something extremely unpleasant that he'd stepped in.

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those." Malfoy responded.

Ron went as red as Ginny and dropped his books in the cauldron. As he started toward Malfoy, the Harry half and Hermione stopped him by grabbing the back of his jacket.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Mr. Weasley said as he struggled over to them with Fred and George. "It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well. Arthur Weasley. How... Interesting that we meet yet again." Mr. Malfoy spoke just like his son Draco had, with an identical sneer, his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Lucius." Mr. Weasley nodded coldly back at him.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear. All those raids... I hope they're paying you overtime?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

He then reached into Ginny's cauldron and took a very old and battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.

"Obviously not. Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

Mr. Weasley turned even redder than either Ron or Ginny.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy." He said.

"Clearly..." Mr. Malfoy's eyes strayed to the Granger's, who watched apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley... and I thought your family could sink no lower..."

The same old taunts from the same old person, the Harry and Rose being thought. And the same Weasley temper, too, it seemed. Ginny's cauldron went flying as Mr. Weasley threw himself at Mr. Malfoy, throwing him backward into a book shelf. Heavy spell books tumbled down on to them as they fought and the Harry and Rose being jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being hit. One of the Weasley's, either Fred or George shouted, "Get him, dad!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, "No, Arthur, no!" The crowd was hurrying backward, knocking over more shelves. The assistant cried, "Gentlemen, please, please!" Louder than all of them was the familiar voice of Hagrid.

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up!" The Harry and Rose being felt relieved.

In an instant, Hagrid pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley's lip was cut and Mr. Malfoy had a black eye from a book that seemed to have hit him. He still held Ginny's transfiguration book, thrusting it at her with malice in his eyes.

"Here, girl, take your book, it's the best your father can give you..." He pulled himself free of Hagrid's grip, beckoned to Draco, then swept from the shop.

"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur." Hagrid stated, almost lifting Mr. Weasley from the floor as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows tha', no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter, bad blood, that's what it is, come on now, let's get outta here."

The assistant looked as if he wanted to stop them leaving, though Hagrid's intimidating size made him think better of it. After leaving the shop, they hurried up the street, Mrs. Weasley furious and the Granger's shaking with fright, from either Hagrid or the fight, the Harry and Rose being didn't know which.

"A fine example to set for your children ... brawling in public... what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought..." Mrs. Weasley snapped angrily.

"He was pleased." Fred said. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report, said it was all publicity."

Everyone was subdued as they headed to the Leaky Cauldron, where they'd all be traveling with their packages back to the Burrow. They bid the Granger's a good day as they left the pub for the Muggle street outside. Mr. Weasley was going to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped at the look on his wife's face. The Harry half removed his glasses and put them in his pocket before getting some Floo powder and heading back to the Weasley's home. Over Floo, the Harry and Rose being decided they preferred brooms, but apparation definitely seemed better than even that for quick distances. 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 The Failure of the Barrier and the Professor Who Knows Nothing

Spending nearly a month at the Burrow had been one of the most enjoyable things the Harry and Rose being had ever experienced. They wished they could spend every summer vacation there, but knew they would likely be returning to the Dursley's next summer. The only other thing they were looking forward to was there return to Hogwarts. The magical school was the best place they'd ever received an education, and though it was sad to think such things, it was there they'd made their true friends. In fact, they were the only people who accepted them for who they were.

The night before their return to Hogwarts was filled with a fabulous evening. Mrs. Weasley cooked a meal with all of the Harry and Rose being's favorite items, ending with a delectable treacle pudding that they thoroughly enjoyed. Afterward, Fred and George displayed some Filibuster fireworks that sent red and blue stars bouncing from the ceiling to the walls for about a half hour. A last mug of hot chocolate ended the evening, then it was time for bed.

The Harry and Rose being had already packed their items the day before, so when they woke on September 1, there was nothing for them to do in that regard. The other Weasley's ran around in their typically chaotic fashion, getting things ready, colliding with each other as they tried to eat breakfast, and in Mr. Weasley's case, tripped over a stray chicken as he carried Ginny's trunk to the car. It was the same car that the Harry and Rose being had been rescued in by Ron, though they didn't see how all the Weasley's and their luggage were going to fit inside.

"Not a word to Molly." Mr. Weasley said as he showed the Harry and Rose being how the trunk had been magically expanded to hold everything.

It didn't surprise the Harry and Rose being that Mrs. Weasley was ignorant. She thought the Muggles had somehow invented a vehicle that had more room on the inside than it seemed to contain by looking at the outside. The Harry and Rose being sat next to each other, with Fred, George, and Ron next to them. Ginny and Percy sat in the front seat, which resembled a bench.

Mr. Weasley started the vehicle and they were off, heading toward King's Cross. The Harry and Rose being wondered when they'd next see the house, turning back for a last look. As it turned out, forgetting things was also something the Weasley's were prone to doing, perhaps, as they were back soon enough with George having forgotten an item of his. They left again, but again, returned when Ginny shouted she'd forgotten her diary. At last, they left, Mr. Weasley glancing at his watch and attempting to convince Mrs. Weasley they could fly to the station in no time with the invisibility booster Mr. Weasley had installed. Mrs. Weasley was adamant in her refusal of the plan, though. As a result, they arrived at King's Cross at a quarter to eleven.

Percy, Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, then Ginny and Mrs. Weasley all went through the Barrier separating the platform. Finally, Ron went through leaving only the Harry and Rose being behind. They began their walk toward the Barrier confidently, gazing up at the clock that indicated they only had about thirty seconds left. They broke into a run as the Barrier loomed closer, then smashed directly into the solid metal and flew backward, Hedwig's cage flying and rolling on the ground. She shrieked and a guard shouted, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?"

"Lost control of the trolley." The Harry half gasped as the Rose half pulled him to his feet, both of them trembling.

Last year, the Barrier had let them through seamlessly. In fact, it had let them through in both directions without a problem. As the Rose half quickly picked up Hedwig's cage and gently stroked her feathers, crooning reassuringly to her, the Harry half stared up at the clock as it chimed eleven. Again, they attempted to go through the Barrier without success. Sighing, the Harry and Rose being thought deeply about what they were going to do as they started back toward the car. When they arrived next to it, they stared at it in a contemplating manner. Ron had flown the car, so surely, they could do the same. The option was immediately rejected. They didn't know how to fly a car, let alone get inside without the keys. And aside from that, they'd already received one warning from the magic Dobby performed at the Dursley's house. It wouldn't due to receive another. Sighing, the Harry and Rose being leaned against the car, staring around them and waiting.

It didn't take long for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to return. Within about five minutes, they were hurrying over frantically.

"Harry, Rose!" Mrs. Weasley called as she approached, then grabbed them both in an embrace. "We're glad you're all right, dears. What happened?"

"Dunno." The Harry and Rose being replied. "The Barrier malfunctioned, it was pretty solid. We couldn't get through."

"We'll have to find you another way to Hogwarts." Mr. Weasley indicated. "Looks like you'll be using Floo powder again."

"We've apparated with Professor McGonagall before, couldn't we do the same here?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Goodness me, I've not apparated with someone else in ages." Mrs. Weasley said. "I wouldn't want to splinch us by mistake."

"What's splinching?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"It's when you arrive at your destination, but with one or more of your body parts missing." Mr. Weasley said. "It's not very pleasant, but usually reversible."

The Harry and Rose being flinched, imagining their arms or eyes left behind on the street while the rest of them was at Hogwarts.

"Definitely Floo powder over that." They indicated.

"Come, then. We'll get you back to the Burrow." Mrs. Weasley said.

Meanwhile, on the Hogwart's express, Ron and Hermione were in a compartment on their own, speculating on the Harry and Rose being's lack of arrival.

"Where do you think they are?" Hermione asked. "I've never heard of the Barrier failing before."

"I dunno." Ron responded. "But if I know them, they've gone back to the car. I think they'll be fine, Mum and Dad will find them and get them to Hogwarts soon enough."

"Really, Weasley?" The sliding door was shoved open the rest of the way, as it had already been open a small amount, revealing Malfoy with his familiar body guards, Crabbe and Goyle.

"So, Saint Potter and the scarlet woman Rose have yet to arrive on the Hogwarts express. No doubt, they're trying to collect more money for your family to pay their way. After all, that's really why you keep the Potter's around, isn't it, Weasley? Lucky, really, or you'd have already starved to death from all those Lockhart books." Malfoy's voice was board and drawling, and after he spoke, he sneered contemptuously.

"Ron, no!" Hermione warned as Ron yanked out his wand and stood up, stepping into the doorway.

"Say that again, Malfoy, I dare you." Ron growled.

Malfoy smirked, then said, "Watch your back, Weasley, lest any more of your, friends, disappear." Malfoy shoved the door closed and Ron stepped back, but wasn't quick enough to stop his wand from being hit. It flew from his hand and was slammed into the door, cracking.

"Oops." Malfoy said with a smirk as Ron shoved the door open and retrieved his broken wand, his face red. He then stepped into the compartment and slammed the door.

"I swear I'm going to kill him." Ron said, then groaned as he looked down at his wand.

"Let me see." Hermione said comfortingly, gazing at it, the tip dangling by only a few splinters.

"I guess I could just tape it together." Ron said.

"I don't know..." Hermione replied nervously. "I don't think that'll work."

At Hogwarts, the Harry and Rose being came tumbling through the fire place in Professor McGonagall's office. She and Professor Dumbledore were there, having been notified of their arrival ahead of time by the Weasley's. As they stood and brushed each other off, Dumbledore looked at them with a smile, blue eyes twinkling.

"I must say, it's not often that students of ours go quite this far for preferential treatment." Professor Dumbledore said.

The Harry and Rose being smiled, then quipped, "We're just that special, Professor."

Professor Dumbledore chuckled.

"Please, sit down." Professor McGonagall indicated two chairs in front of her desk.

The Harry and Rose being did so, gazing across the desk at the two professors.

"I am most intrigued." Professor Dumbledore said. "It would take powerful and advanced magic to disrupt the Barrier leading to platform nine and three quarters."

"There's one possibility I can think of." The Harry and Rose being indicated. "A house-elf by the name of Dobby was trying to prevent me from returning to Hogwarts, presumably hoping the warning from the ministry would cause the Dursley's to lock me up and prevent me from returning. It almost worked, too. If Ron, Fred and George hadn't rescued me, and the Weasley's hadn't been planning on arriving, I wouldn't be here. Could a house-elf block the Barrier?"

"Possibly." Professor Dumbledore said pensively. "However, the Barrier seems to be operating normally again, from what I understand. Mr. Weasley was generous enough to apparate back to the platform and test it for me before your arrival."

"We heard." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Professor Dumbledore, should we wait here for everyone to arrive?"

Professor Dumbledore looked over at Professor McGonagall, who leveled her gaze on them.

"You are free to walk about the school until the train arrives. At that point, meet with the other students in the entrance hall." Professor McGonagall said.

"In case you are wondering, your luggage has already been transported to the room between the boys and girls staircases that I indicated to you at the end of term last school year." Professor Dumbledore said. "While you are recognized as occupying the room by Hogwarts, it will become visible to all. If, of course, you are able to occupy it, this should begin when you open the door. You are able to lock the room, of course, and prevent anyone but the staff from gaining entry, should you wish to do so. Once again, I wish to impress upon you the seriousness of the responsibility given to you. The use of such a room is not given lightly, and is only given to you due to your unique circumstances."

"I understand, Professor." The Harry and Rose being said, then added, "I would like to ask both of you something, though."

The two Professors nodded.

"First year was fairly easy as things go." The Harry and Rose being began. "I can imagine the rest of our schooling being just as easy. Would it be possible for me to learn and study beyond my courses? I'd like to attend class with my friends if I can, but I also want to study and learn more."

"That is certainly possible." Professor McGonagall said. "It isn't often that we have students wishing to learn at an accelerated rate. However, I should warn you that it won't be easy. Furthermore, if you get too far ahead in your studies, you may be asked to assist your classmates in their endeavors rather than learn along side them."

"That's understandable, Professor." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Because certain areas of magic require knowledge of their previous year before learning the next, I would like to begin by first alerting the professors of your wish, then assigning you double the amount of work you would otherwise receive. If all goes well, you will be tested for your second year half way through such year, and will move on to your third." Professor McGonagall indicated.

"That will be harder, but I'd like to try." The Harry and Rose being responded. "How would this work, anyhow?"

"You will attend classes with your second year classmates. During a scheduled time on Saturday nights, I, and I'm certain some of the other Professors, are willing to work with you on the practical portions of the assignments you will be learning ahead of your class mates. However, it will also be your responsibility to practice such charms, spells, or areas of magic on your own." Professor McGonagall said.

"Also understandable." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Very well." Professor McGonagall said briskly. "Unless there is anything else, you may go. I shall speak with the other Professors regarding your desire to go through the accelerated learning program, and continue attending classes with your classmates."

"Thank you, Professor." The Harry and Rose being said as they stood. "See you tonight, Professor Dumbledore."

He nodded and the Harry and Rose being left. After the door closed behind them, he turned to face Professor McGonagall.

"It seems they do, indeed, learn things at an accelerated rate, something I had postulated last year." Professor Dumbledore said, pondering. "I will be curious to know if their magic is also more powerful."

"It would also seem they are wise beyond their years." Professor McGonagall said. "They showed a maturity I wouldn't have expected from them regarding their wish to learn more, and their willingness to proceed. They also don't seem quite as reckless as they were the prior year."

"Indeed." Professor Dumbledore responded. "I would imagine that, due to their bond, they will mature faster than an ordinary witch and wizard would."

"Do you want me to report anything unusual to you, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Not to worry, Minerva. I'll be watching them." Professor Dumbledore said in response.

The Harry and Rose being touched the door knob leading to the room they were to occupy, standing in the Gryffindor common room between the boys and girls staircases. The door glowed for a moment, then a sign appeared on it. They gazed at it and read.

Harry James Potter Rose Marie Potter

The Rose half turned the knob and opened the door, entering the room which seemed larger than it should have been, given the Gryffindor common room itself. As the Harry and Rose being entered, they gazed around at their accommodations. A large, comfortable looking bed dominated one wall with their trunk at the foot, Hedwig's cage on top, the owl likely elsewhere as the cage was empty. A dresser was near its head and a desk sat against the other wall. In the far corner were two doors at right angles to one another. One led to the bathroom, presumably, and the other was likely a closet. A window was along the wall opposite the bed and they sat at the desk, which had two chairs, gazing out over the grounds. The view was almost the same at that from the boys dormitory. As they gazed out at the familiar trees and the forest, they grinned, glad to return to the school they loved.

"Harry, Rose!" Hermione shouted out as she enveloped them in a tight embrace that evening, meeting the students in the entrance hall.

"Where were you, mate? What happened?" Ron asked as they joined him and the others streaming into the great hall.

Once again, it was decorated for the feast, grand in its splendor. The Harry and Rose being grinned, glad to be returning.

"The Barrier stopped me from arriving, so we took some Floo powder at the Burrow and went to Professor McGonagall's office. I've been here ever since." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"You should have taken the car." Ron said.

"No, that would only have gotten us into trouble." The Harry and Rose being said as they sat down.

"Well, you missed the horseless carriages." Ron said with a grin. "Next year, eh?"

"Yes, perhaps." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Malfoy decided to perform a little surgery on my wand." Ron said angrily, pulling it from his robe sleeve. The Harry and Rose being examined the taped wand critically.

"Are you sure that's going to work?" They asked apprehensively.

"It's all I've got, so it had better." Ron announced. "Malfoy's to blame if it doesn't. Git."

"Hush, Ron, they're bringing out the first years." Hermione indicated.

Indeed, the line of first years was heading from the same room the Harry and Rose being had been in last year. They looked nervous and they remembered the feeling all too well. Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on the stool as had been done last year, and just as it had before, sang yet another song before the sorting.

Everyone clapped and cheered at the hat's song and the Harry and Rose being watched as the first years were sorted. When they were all sitting at their seats, Professor Dumbledore stood and silence fell over the hall.

"I should hope for the best of evenings to you all!" Professor Dumbledore began with a beaming smile. "To our new students, welcome! And to our old, welcome back! A new year of magical adventure and teaching awaits, and of course, our magnificently prepared feast. Before we begin, I have a couple words of great important's to say to you all, and here they are. Eliz, Tina, Sensa, Zen! Thank you!"

Some of the students laughed at Professor Dumbledore's brief speech as he sat down, mountains of delicious dishes appearing on the table as they had the prior years.

"I've been waiting for this all summer." The Harry and Rose being said as they served them self, grinning widely. "Not to worry though, Ron, your mother's cooking is excellent."

"I'm glad you noticed." Ron said with a grin, taking a bite of his dinner.

"The two of you might be interested to know where I'm staying." The Harry and Rose being said after swallowing. "There's a room between the boys and girls dormitories in the common room."

"Really?" Hermione asked with excited fascination.

"Wha' that moom?" Ron asked through a mouthful of food, spraying bits of potato on his plate and the table.

"Manners, Ron!" Hermione chided.

At the same time, the Harry and Rose being said, "That's disgusting Ron." Hermione grinned at them as they added in a voice as if speaking to a child, "Chew, swallow, then speak, Ronald Weasley."

"Yeah, yeah, like I don't already know." Ron said. "So what room is that anyway? I've never heard of it?"

"It's only used for married or soul bound couples who can't be apart from one another." Hermione said imperiously. "It's a very rarely used room. I read about it in..."

The Harry and Rose being spoke with her and said, "Hogwarts, A History." Hermione looked surprised.

"Please, Hermione, you read everything about Hogwarts in that book, you've probably got the entire thing memorized by now."

"Well, maybe, just a little." Hermione said, looking proud.

"Yeah, a little indeed." The Harry and Rose being said, then added, "Quick, page eleven, paragraph two!"

"The most notable feature of Hogwarts is it's partially sentient nature, witnessed at various points in the past by..." Hermione began.

"Right, Hermione, right, a little? You know exactly what it says!" The Harry and Rose being laughed along with Hermione, who chuckled a little. "Oh, by the way, we're going through the accelerated learning program, too."

"Oh, really? How wonderful!" Hermione squealed. "You'll have to tell me all about it, I want to learn the things you know, too!"

"In good time, Hermione." The Harry and Rose being said.

The feast ended with desserts as always, then Dumbledore stood to make his speech, beaming at all the students.

"Now that our stomachs are full and you are, no doubt, pleasantly drowsy, your thoughts are likely focused on your beds above. However, I wish only a few moments of your attention, if I may." Professor Dumbledore began. The Harry and Rose being could see some students yawning, they them self feeling tired.

"Our first years should know that the forest in the grounds is forbidden for students to enter without an instructor. Those returning students of ours should know this as well." Professor Dumbledore's eyes briefly glanced at the Weasley twins and a couple of other students at the Slytherin table. "Mr. Filch wishes me to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes, along with a variety of items. The list is, I believe, pinned to Mr. Filch's office door. Due to Professor Quirrell's unexpected death last year, we have a change in staff. Defense Against the Dark Arts is now being taught by Gilderoy Lockhart."

The clapping and cheering was quite loud for him and several witches, including Hermione, blushed at the announcement. Professor Lockhart stood up and flashed the room a brilliant smile, his gleaming white teeth clearly visible from where they were sitting.

"And finally!" Professor Dumbledore added as the clapping died down. "For those interested in playing, Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Notify Madam Hooch if you wish to attend. And remember, first years are not permitted their own broomsticks. And now, off to bed with you all, and rest well for the days ahead!"

Everyone got up from the tables and headed toward the doors. The rout to the Gryffindor common room was familiar, and as they entered, the Harry and Rose being trudged toward their room. Hermione and Ron looked at the door with interest, and other students stared also. Whispers and pointing followed them and they sighed, entered the room, then locked it behind them and dressed for bed. Despite the new avenue of curiosity the students no doubt had about them, they were still quite proud to be back at Hogwarts. Grinning, they lay down and embraced, quickly drifting to sleep.

The next day was a fairly usual affair. The Harry and Rose being got to eat a wonderful breakfast, something they'd missed a great deal. Hermione greeted them with a grin, reading her copy of Voyages with Vampires. The Harry and Rose being had neglected to read all of Lockhart's books in favor of enjoying their vacation at the Burrow, though imagined it would be better to start sooner rather than later.

Professor McGonagall was moving along the table and handing out the schedules to the Gryffindors, just as she had the year before. Double Herbology was with the Hufflepuff's first, the Harry and Rose being noted. Once they finished eating, they left the school and headed across the grounds toward the green houses. As they approached, they saw Professor Sprout waiting for them.

"Greenhouse three today, chaps!" She called to them.

She led the way and unlocked the door. The Harry and Rose being smelled damp earth as they entered, gazing around eagerly. Several new and interesting plants were there, including a bench with what looked to be earmuffs on. For a few minutes, Professor Sprout spoke about the seriousness of working with the plants they would be dealing with, and fooling around wouldn't be tolerated. She then proceeded with the lesson.

"We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" She asked.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione rose her hand.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative. It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state." Hermione replied.

The Harry and Rose being grinned a little. They wondered if she had a photographic memory, since she seemed to remember every book she ever read word for word.

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor." Professor Sprout responded. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Again, Hermione rose her hand into the air, narrowly missing the Harry half's glasses.

"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it." Hermione stated promptly.

"Precisely. Take another ten points." Professor Sprout responded with satisfaction. "Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young."

She pointed to a row of deep trays and everyone shuffled forward for a better look. A great number of tufty little plants that were purple and green in color were growing there. They didn't seem remarkable in any way.

"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs." Professor Sprout said.

Everyone took some as directed, trying not to get ones that were pink and fluffy.

"When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered. When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right, earmuffs on."

The Harry and Rose being snapped theirs on and noted they shut out sound completely. Not even Muggle earmuffs did that, so they imagined there was magic that helped in that regard. After Professor Sprout snapped on the fluffy pink ones, she rolled up the sleeves of her robe, grabbed one of the tufty plants and pulled hard.

The Harry and Rose being gasped, though no one heard them. Roots didn't come from the ground, but instead, a small, muddy, and extremely ugly baby did. The leaves seemed to be growing right out of his head. They watched on curiously as Professor Sprout took a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the plant into it, burying it in the dark, damp compost until only the leaves were visible. She then dusted off her hands and gave everyone the thumbs up. They removed their earmuffs.

"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet." She said as if nothing terribly important had just happened, her voice quite casual. "However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up. Four to a tray, there is a large supply of pots here, compost in the sacks over there, and be careful of the Venemous Tentacula, it's teething."

She gave a sharp slap to a red and spiky plant, who's feelers had been sneaking over her shoulder. The Harry and Rose being worked with Ron and Hermione, and next to them was a curly-haired Hufflepuff boy the Harry and Rose being had only seen and never spoken to. They heard him introduce himself as Justin Finch-Fletchley to his partners and speak about Lockhart. Many people seemed excited he was going to be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, though the Harry and Rose being privately thought he was full of himself, and not particularly interested in teaching anything differently.

When they started working, the Harry and Rose being realized that repotting the Mandrakes was much harder than they thought it would be. Professor Sprout had made it look easy, but it was rather difficult. The plants didn't want to come from the earth, but didn't seem to want to go back in, either. They squirmed and flailed, hitting and biting. The Harry half had spent ten minutes trying to shove a rather fat one into a pot, and the Rose half had similar difficulties with hers. She had an easier time dealing with them, though, as she was stronger than the Harry half. It would have made it easier if they'd been able to work together.

At the end of class, Professor Sprout had the Harry and Rose being stay behind, who like everyone else, was tired and sweating a little. She led them from the green house, though, and they breathed in the fresh air.

"I understand you want to enter the accelerated learning program." She stated.

"Yes, Professor." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"We might not have time to do much practical with you, but I expect you to thoroughly study the assignments I give you. You'll be tested on your knowledge, and if you study hard enough, I expect you'll handle any practical I give you sufficiently enough to pass an exam. Since time will be a little more limited to you out of class, I'll test you on one thing a week during any free period you may have which I'm available for." She said.

"Understood, Professor. And thanks." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"You're welcome, but remember, it's up to you to learn what you wish to know." Professor Sprout said in reply.

Before she dismissed them, she ran her wand over both of them, cleaning them of the dirt and grime that was on them. They then proceeded to the castle and headed for transfiguration. As usual, Professor McGonagall's classes were challenging, though it was easier for the Harry and Rose being than it was for most of the other students. They were able to turn their Beatles into buttons without much of a problem. Ron, on the other hand, seemed unable to use his wand. It crackled and sparked at odd moments, and whenever he tried to transfigure his Beatle, it engulfed him in thick gray smoke that smelled like rotten eggs. Since he wasn't able to see what he was doing, he accidentally crushed his Beatle with his elbow and had to ask for a new one. Predictably, Professor McGonagall wasn't pleased at this.

When the lunch bell rang, Ron was left behind with the Harry and Rose being, whacking his wand on the desk.

"Stupid useless thing." Ron grumbled irritably.

"Write home for another, and meanwhile, don't hit the desk with it. That's not going to help." The Harry and Rose being called over the sounds the wand was making, almost like firecrackers.

"They are correct, Mr. Weasley. I suggest you head to lunch." Professor McGonagall said.

Ron grumbled as he left the class room and Professor McGonagall turned to them with a strict look.

"This is what will be the next assignment." She said, handing them a packet of papers. "Study this thoroughly. I shall be testing you next class."

"I will." The Harry and Rose being said, then left for lunch.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was after lunch. When they finished eating, they went to the overcast courtyard for a small break before classes, Hermione reading Lockhart's book again, and apparently having outlined all his lessons in little hearts. The Harry and Rose being thought it was rather foolish and silly to do, and hadn't done anything of the sort. After a few minutes of talking with Ron about Quidditch, the Harry and Rose being realized someone was staring at them. They turned and spotted a small, mousy-haired boy who had been sorted into Gryffindor. He looked transfixed as he stared at the Harry and Rose being, clutching what looked like a Muggle camera. When they looked at him, he turned bright red.

"All right, Harry and Rose? I'm-I'm Colin Creevey." He said in a breathless voice, taking a tentative step toward them. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think, would it be all right if, can I have a picture?"

"A picture." The Harry and Rose being repeated flatly.

"So I can prove I've met you." Colin replied eagerly, moving even closer to them. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead Harry..." His eyes raked over the Harry half's forehead and he continued in an excited voice. "And they've told me about how you're his soul mate and everything too and how you used to be related to the Black's. And a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures will move." Colin took a deep, shuttering breath, excited. As he made to start speaking again, the Harry and Rose being put up a hand and interrupted.

"Colin, no photos." They stated.

"But Harry please?" Colin begged. "My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you," He looked at them imploringly. "maybe your soul mate could stand next to you and your friend could take it and I could stand next to you too? And then, could you sign it?"

"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter's?" Draco Malfoy drawled, his voice loud and scathing as he stood behind Colin. As usual, Crabbe and Goyle were on either side of him.

"No, I'm not." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly, glaring at Malfoy.

"Everyone line up!" Malfoy roared to the crowd. "Harry and Rose Potter are giving out signed photos!"

"As I said, I'm not." The Harry and Rose being stated again.

"You're just jealous." Colin interjected, his body about as thick as Crabbe's neck.

"Jealous? Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself." Malfoy responded, who was no longer shouting. Half the people in the courtyard were listening.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy." Ron said angrily. Crabbe, who had been laughing along with Goyle, stopped and started rubbing his knuckles in a menacing way.

"Be careful, Weasley. You don't want to start any trouble or your Mommy will have to come and take you away from school. Of course, with that shoddy tape job you did on your wand, she may be taking you in a tiny little match box. But perhaps, Potter's, Weasley would like one of those signed photos. It would be worth more than his family's whole house..."

Ron whipped out his taped wand and Hermione shut her book with a snap, whispering, "Look out!"

"What's all this, what's all this?" Professor Lockhart was striding toward them, the turquoise robes he wore swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?"

The Harry and Rose being were about to speak, but before they could, Lockhart flung his arms around their shoulders.

"Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry and Rose!" Lockhart said cheerfully, smiling widely.

The Harry and Rose being spotted Malfoy slip back into the crowd, smirking as they blushed, pinned to his sides.

"Come on then, Mr. Creevey." He said, beaming at Colin. "A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you."

Colin fumbled for his camera as the Harry and Rose being struggled to escape. Just as he took the picture, the Rose half twisted free and pulled the Harry half away from Lockhart.

"Come, come now, Rose." Lockhart said as he reached to touch her.

"Don't." The Rose half said, stepping closer to the Harry half and pulling him away for appearances sake only. Lockhart looked a little disappointed, but smiled brilliantly after a moment.

"Right then, I'm sure it'll turn out just fine! Off you go, then!" He said cheerfully to the crowd, then said, "Come, follow me Harry and Rose."

They followed him across the grounds, sighing with resignation, though did so quietly. Listening to Professor Lockhart was the last thing they wanted to do.

"A word to the wise, Harry and Rose." Lockhart said as they entered Hogwarts through a side door. "I covered up for you back there with young Creevey, if he was photographing me, too, your schoolmates won't think you're setting yourself up so much..."

"But I'm not trying..." The Harry and Rose being began, but Lockhart didn't seem to be listening to them.

"Let me just say that handing out signed pictures at this stage of your careers isn't sensible, looks a tad bigheaded, Harry and Rose, to be frank. There may well come a time when, like me, you'll need to keep a stack handy wherever you go, but," He chortled a little. "I don't think you're quite there yet."

As they entered the class room, the Harry and Rose being found seats in the back, staring down at their desk and remaining silent. As the rest of the class entered, Ron and Hermione came over and sat down on either side of the Harry and Rose being.

"You could've fried an egg on your faces." Ron said. ""You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny, or they'll be starting a Potter's fan club."

"Don't." The Harry and Rose being said quietly but quickly. "The last thing I need is for Professor Lockhart to hear that."

"Professor, you kidding?" Ron asked in a mutter. "Seems a bit full of himself to me."

"Agreed." The Harry and Rose being responded with a sigh.

When everyone was seated, Professor Lockhart cleared his throat loudly, causing everyone to go silent. Reaching forward, he picked up Neville's copy of Travels with Trolls, then held it up to show his own winking portrait on the front.

"Me." He pointed at the picture and winked along with it. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

He waited for them to laugh. A few smiled weakly and the Harry and Rose being frowned. That didn't sound like anything to do with defense, looked like yet another teacher that didn't know what they were talking about.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books, well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about, just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in." He passed out the test papers, then sat at the front of the class. "You have thirty minutes, start now."

The Harry and Rose being looked down at their papers and read some of the questions. They had nothing to do with defense what so ever. Instead, they all had to do with Professor Lockhart, such as his favorite color, what they thought his favorite achievement might be, and when his birthday was. There were fifty-four questions in total. The Harry and Rose being knew nothing, but went through the questions anyway. By each one, they wrote, has nothing to do with defense. With a smirk, they sat back and waited for everyone else to finish their tests. When Professor Lockhart gathered the papers, he went through them in front of the class.

"Tut, tut, hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully. I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples, though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!"

He winked yet again. Ron was staring at Professor Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face. The Harry and Rose being were frowning in a resigned sort of way. Some people around the class were shaking with silent laughter. As usual, Hermione's attention was completely on Professor Lockhart and she paid complete attention to him, jumping a little when her name was mentioned.

"But Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions, good girl! In fact," He flipped the paper over. "Full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

Hermione rose a trembling hand and Professor Lockhart beamed.

"Excellent! Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so, to business!" Professor Lockhart said.

Bending down behind his desk, he lifted a large, covered cage on to it and began speaking in a dramatic way.

"Now-be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

The Harry and Rose being stared on as Professor Lockhart put a hand on the cover of the cage. Everyone who had been silently laughing had stopped. Neville was cowering in his seat.

"I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them." Professor Lockhart said in a low voice before whipping off the cover.

Whatever was inside were about eight inches high and quite blue in color, with pointed faces and shrill voices. They were all moving around the cage and making faces at the people closest to them.

"Yes. Freshly caught Cornish pixies." Seamus Finnigan let out a snort of laughter at that and Professor Lockhart asked, "Yes?"

"Well, they're not, they're not very- dangerous, are they?" Seamus asked through his laughter.

"Don't be so sure!" Professor Lockhart said, wagging a finger at Seamus. "Devilish tricky little blighters they can be! "Right, then. Let's see what you make of them!"

Professor Lockhart opened the cage and the pixies shot in all directions. Two of them grabbed Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. Several more shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass, the Harry and Rose being sweeping their wands toward it and sending it harmlessly in another direction. The rest of the pixies proceeded to cause even more chaos throughout the class, causing everyone that was able to take shelter to do so.

"Come on now, round them up, round them up, they're only pixies!" Professor Lockhart shouted.

"You didn't show us anything!" The Rose half shouted in reply as Professor Lockhart got out his wand.

"Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" He shouted, brandishing his wand.

Nothing happened and one of the pixies grabbed his wand, throwing it out the window. Professor Lockhart gulped and dove under his desk, narrowly avoiding Neville slamming into him as he fell from the ceiling, the chandelier unable to support his weight. As the bell rang, people madly rushed for the exit and Professor Lockhart straightened up, things a little calmer now that most people were gone. He caught sight of the Harry and Rose being, Ron, and Hermione and said, "Well, I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." He then left and closed the door quickly behind him.

"Some defense teacher, eh?" The Harry and Rose being called, freezing three pixies with the same charm Hermione was using.

"Can you believe him?" Ron shouted painfully as one of the pixies bit him on the ear.

"He just wants to give us some hands-on experience!" Hermione called.

"Oh please!" The Harry and Rose being shouted as some of the pixies flung shredded paper at them. "He has no clue what he's doing!"

"Rubbish." Hermione said. "You've read his books, look at all those amazing things he's done..."

"Says he's done." Ron muttered.

The Harry and Rose being were in complete agreement with Ron. Once the rest of the pixies were back in their cage, they left the room with Ron and Hermione, who were still arguing about Professor Lockhart and his teaching style. Well, the Harry and Rose being thought, there was always self study. 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 Advanced Magic and the Mudblood Insult

The Harry and Rose being ended up speaking with Professor McGonagall that evening about Professor Lockhart's incompetent instruction in class, and how he seemed more focused on displaying his fame than actually teaching. She listened to their concerns, but told them there was nothing she could do regarding it. When they told her they were planning to study Defense Against The Dark Arts on their own, she gave them a rare smile.

"An ambitious move to be sure." She said in response. "I am willing to assist you in learning any spell you come across in your research."

"Thanks, Professor." The Harry and Rose being replied.

They did their best to avoid Professor Lockhart whenever they could. Colin Creevey was more difficult to avoid, as he seemed to have memorized the Harry and Rose being's schedule. He would often come up to them and call, "All right, Harry and Rose?"

"Hello, Colin, doing just fine." The Harry and Rose being would respond.

It seemed to be thrilling for him to hear them say such words, especially when they spoke together. It didn't matter if they sounded weary of it, or even snapped at him angrily. Their anger toward him cooled eventually, the Harry and Rose being recognizing that he was simply enjoying the responses, and if he could get it, the company of the person that was so famous and someone he seemed to admire a great deal. They didn't like it, but that wasn't a reason to be angry with him.

Along with that was Ron's malfunctioning wand, which created quite a problem during charms class when it flew out of his hand, striking Professor Flitwick between the eyes and creating a rather large boil there. The Harry and Rose being was looking forward to the weekend, and had planned to visit Hagrid that Saturday. However, they woke earlier than planned.

September 5, 1992.

A firm knocking woke the Harry and Rose being. They blinked their eyes open and yawned, stretching a little before the Rose half got up and moved to the door. Straightening her night clothes, she gripped the knob and turned it, pulling the door soundlessly open. Oliver Wood stood on the other side.

"Yes?" She asked as the Harry half curled up in the bed, getting more comfortable.

"Quidditch practice! Come on, Harry, up!" Wood stated, clapping his hands.

The Harry and Rose being sighed and the Rose half asked, "Now? Do you know how early it is?"

"Yes, I do. It's part of our new training program." Wood replied with a gleam of crazed enthusiasm burning in his eyes. "Come on, Harry, up, and grab your broom, let's do this. None of the other teams have started training yet; we're going to be first off the mark this year."

"I'll be there in a bit." The Rose half said as the Harry half climbed from the bed, shivering a little.

"You can come if you want, but Harry, got to wake up!" Wood said, snapping his fingers.

The Harry half sighed, then said, "Okay. We'll be there." They didn't want to deal with Wood's questions about them this early, so opted to speak as the individuals they weren't.

"Good man, Harry." Wood said with a grin. "Meet you on the field in fifteen minutes."

The Rose half closed the door as the Harry half pulled his Quidditch robes from the dresser and pulled them on. The Rose half dressed casual and slung a cloak around her shoulders as the Harry half put on a cloak of his own. Together, they left their room, the Harry half carrying the Nimbus Two Thousand. As they crossed the room, the Harry and Rose being heard a clattering from the direction of the boys staircase. Colin Creevey was hurrying down the stairs, camera swinging wildly from his neck and something clutched in his hand.

"I heard someone saying your name in the common room, Harry! Look what I've got here! I've had it developed, I wanted to show you..."

The Harry half gazed down at the photograph, which was a black and white picture. Professor Lockhart was struggling to grasp the Harry and Rose being, the Rose half pulling the Harry half away as they tried to evade him. Panting, Professor Lockhart eventually dropped his arms, the Harry and Rose being not quite as in a good of view as professor Lockhart was. At seeing this, the Harry and Rose being smiled a little.

"Will you sign it?" Colin eagerly asked.

"No." The Harry and Rose being responded flatly. "I've got to go to Quidditch practice."

As they started to climb through the portrait hole, Colin said behind them, "Oh, wow! Wait for me! I've never watched a Quidditch game before!"

"Really." The Harry and Rose being responded, feeling somewhat bothered by his constant chatter. "I'd never have guessed."

"You were the youngest House player in a hundred years, weren't you, Harry? Weren't you?" Colin said, his voice still eager, his face excited. "You must be brilliant. I've never flown. Is it easy? Is that your own broom? Is that the best one there is?"

"Flying was easy for me, this was the best broom there is I think, I was the youngest house player in a century, yes." The Harry and Rose being responded in a resigned tone.

"I don't really understand Quidditch. Is it true there are four balls? And two of them fly around trying to knock people off their brooms?" Colin asked in a breathless voice.

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being responded, feeling a little irritated but showing nothing. "Those are called Bludgers, the beaters try and keep them away from our team mates and hit them toward the other team. Fred and George Weasley are the beaters for the Gryffindor team."

"And what are the other balls for?" Colin asked.

The Rose half quickly caught him before he tumbled and he stared up at her with pure awe.

"Focus, focus." She said, snapping her fingers in front of his face and grinning a little. Despite them self, the Harry and Rose being felt amused at his admiration, though wished he wouldn't be around them quite so much.

"Now." The Harry and Rose being continued. "The Quaffle, the red ball, is the one used to score goals for ten points each. There's three chasers on each team that try and get the Quaffle through the goal hoops of the other team. The keeper tries to block them from scoring. The last ball is the Snitch, worth a hundred and fifty points. The seeker has to catch it, but it's very fast and difficult to do. The game doesn't end until the seeker catches it."

"And you're the Gryffindor seeker, aren't you, Harry?" Colin asked in awe.

"Yes." The Harry half responded as they left the school and started walking across the grounds. "I'll be in the changing rooms for a while."

"But you can stay with me, can't you, Rose? And we can talk? And you can tell me all about what Harry does and what he's learned, right?" Colin asked.

"I'm not staying." The Rose half responded. "I'm going back inside."

"But aren't you Harry's soul mate or something?" Colin asked. "Don't you have to stay together?"

"No, we don't have to stay together, and I'm one being, one soul, not two bound together." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Oh, wow!" Colin responded, staring with pure awe. "That's why you talk at the same time all the time?"

"One of the reasons, yes." The Harry and Rose being said, then the Harry half slipped into the changing rooms.

"Well I'll go and get a good seat!" Colin said in an excited voice, then hurried off. The Rose half sighed, turned around, then strode quickly off through the field and back up to the castle, planning to wait for Ron in the Gryffindor common room.

The Harry half entered the changing rooms and noticed that Wood seemed to be the only member of the Quidditch team that was actually awake and alert. Fred and George Weasley were sitting next to Alicia Spinnet, one of the chasers. It looked as if she was nodding off as she leaned against the wall behind her. Across from them sat Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, the other two chasers. They were yawning and their eyes looked tired.

"There you are, Harry, what kept you?" Wood asked briskly, though didn't give the Harry half a chance to respond. He simply continued speaking. "Now, I wanted a quick talk with you all before we actually get onto the field, because I spent the summer devising a whole new training program, which I really think will make all the difference..."

"Unbelievable." The Rose half muttered as she made her way up the staircases to Gryffindor tower.

As Wood held up a diagram of a Quidditch field with differently colored arrows, lines and crosses and began to explain his strategy, Fred started to snore. The Rose half reached the Gryffindor common room and entered, gazing around with a frown as Wood droned on about his strategies. Tired from waking so early, the Harry and Rose being didn't pay much attention, the Rose half slumping down on the couch as the Harry half positioned himself in a clever position that would give Wood the idea he was paying attention. A while passed until the Gryffindors started to wake. Hermione came to the common room and the Rose half leapt up and hurried toward her.

"Oh, thank you." She said in pure relief. "Save me, Hermione, please!"

"What's wrong, Rose?" Hermione asked in concern.

"Our Quidditch captain Wood is droning on and on about some useless strategies I really don't care to hear right now. I just want to eat, get something for the Harry half to eat and bring it to him. So please, please divert my attention from this ridiculousness." The Rose half stated, then grinned. "Just kidding, you being here is good enough. Where's Ron, still sleeping?"

"I'd imagine so." Hermione replied with a smile of her own.

"Well, it's time he wakes up." The Rose half declared with a smirk.

The Harry and Rose being felt a swell of excitement. If Wood was going to drone on about useless strategy they didn't care to focus on, at least they could have fun in another way. Silent like a cat, the Rose half bounded up the stairs and went to the second year dormitory for the boys. Carefully, she listened to the sound, then softly knocked. Moments later, Neville opened the door a little.

"Rose." He said in surprise. "What's up?"

"Can I come in?" She asked quietly. "I think my good pal Ron needs to wake up."

Neville chuckled and stepped aside. The Rose half entered and gazed quickly around the room, then made her way toward Ron. As Wood moved his second diagram of the day aside to make way for another, the Rose half moved to the head of his bed and leaned over with a grin. Seamus, Dean and Neville were all watching. Carefully, the Rose half moved the covers from his bed, then in a smooth motion, lifted him effortlessly.

"Time to get up, Ron!" She hollered loudly.

Ron woke with a start and flailed in her arms. The Rose half tossed him on to his bed and looked down at his terrified face, laughing and clapping.

"That was worth it!" She shouted, the Harry half's face twitching into a little grin as the Harry and Rose being felt a giddy exuberance at the prank they'd pulled on him. "Oh, and Ron?"

Ron, who was starting to calm, shot them a look and said, "What was that for!"

"I want my friend, now!" The Rose half said, stomping her feet like a petulant child, looking furious. "And if you don't wake up when I want you next time, I'll dump cold water on you!" She laughed and Ron gave her a weak smile.

"What brought this on, anyway?" Ron asked.

"The boring Quidditch talk, and I'm a little tired so I want to do something to wake me up and have a little fun." The Rose half responded. "So, want to have breakfast, Ron?"

He grumbled as he climbed from the bed and the Rose half chuckled, turned, then started to leave the dormitory.

"I wouldn't want to get on your bad side, maybe not your good side, either." Neville said. "But that was pretty cool."

"Oh, you just wait." The Rose half responded darkly. "I've got plans for my friend Ronald Weasley."

Behind her, Ron picked up a pillow and threw it at the Rose half.

"Shove off." He said.

The Rose half turned, grabbed the pillow, then threw it with enough force to knock him down. Laughing, she sprinted from the dormitory and shouted, "Catch me if you can, Ronny boy!"

It wasn't long that they ate some breakfast in the great hall, and after a moments thought, the Harry and Rose being decided to see how much the Rose half could take from the great hall. Some of the professors, including McGonagall, were eating at the high table. After eating herself, the Rose half made her way over to them and they looked up at her.

"Professor McGonagall, how much food would I be allowed to take from the great hall?" The Rose half asked. "The Harry half's rather hungry along with the rest of the Quidditch team."

"You may take as much as you wish, but not on the plates we have here." Professor McGonagall responded. "If you like, I can conjure a tray and goblets for you."

"Thanks, Professor." The Rose half responded sincerely as Professor McGonagall walked back to the Gryffindor table with her.

"Watch closely." Professor McGonagall indicated. "Conjuration is some of the most difficult magic. Focus is required for the objects to appear as you wish them to, and usually, such spells are not taught until N.E.W.T. level."

She pulled out her wand and waved it, a large tray, plates, several utensils and seven goblets appeared, the plates and goblets grouped on smaller trays of their own.

"What's N.E.W.T. stand for, Professor?" The Rose half asked, the Harry and Rose being ever curious.

"Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test." Professor McGonagall responded. "And believe me, the tests live up to their name. If you continue learning at double the normal rate, you may elect to take such exams at the end of what would normally be your forth year of schooling."

"You said nothing when you conjured these." The Rose half said, waving at the assortment of dishes on the table that Professor McGonagall had conjured.

"True." She responded. "This is also incredibly difficult, but is called non-verbal magic."

"Because you say nothing to perform the spell?" The Rose being asked, finding this far more interesting than Wood's Quidditch talk.

"Correct, but this also requires a great degree of mental focus to achieve." Professor McGonagall replied.

"How does it work?" Hermione asked eagerly, having come over to listen to the lecture.

"Within your mind, you must concentrate on the spell you are attempting to perform." Professor McGonagall replied, looking like she did when lecturing in class. "Your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will normally teach you the process on how to perform non-verbal magic, along with its usefulness."

"Can any spell be performed non-verbally?" The Rose half asked.

"Yes." Professor McGonagall responded.

The Rose half pulled out her wand eagerly and said, "Something simple, Lumos, perhaps." She thought hard, though nothing happened.

"It may take you some time before you master the technique." Professor McGonagall stated strictly. "It will not be dangerous for you to practice, should you wish to do so."

"Ah, Professor McGonagall, Rose!" Professor Lockhart said in a jovial voice. "Teaching non-verbal magic, are you? Incredibly difficult to master, I must say, but I've got quite a few pointers on the technique to share."

"Oh, that's okay, Professor." The Rose half responded. "I've got to run some breakfast to the Quidditch team, anyway."

"Delightful!" Professor Lockhart said, clapping her on the shoulder. "Simply marvelous that you're willing to go that extra mile to help your friends! I'll leave you to it, then!" And with that, Professor Lockhart moved off in a jaunty manner.

The Rose half poured pumpkin juice into the goblets and dished a fair amount of food on each plate. When she finished, Professor McGonagall tapped each plate and goblet with her wand, saying, "I have placed warming charms on the plates and cooling charms on the goblets for you."

"Thanks a lot, Professor." The Rose half said with a grin, picking up the tray and walking toward the exit to the great hall.

"Ah, and here she is now. Lost Potter, have you?" Malfoy asked with a sneer.

"Oh no, not at all." The Rose half replied calmly.

"Well, I wouldn't want to delay you in your most... Perilous journey." Malfoy said in a cool, level tone.

As the Rose half passed Malfoy and his entourage, Crabbe stuck out his foot to try and trip her. The Harry and Rose being expected something like that, simply jumping over it and taking long, quick strides toward the large double doors. As she moved out into the cool air, she gazed around, hearing Ron and Hermione talking as they followed her. Colin was in the stands, the Rose half noted as she got closer. Spotting her, he waved eagerly.

"Look this way, Rose!" He called, taking pictures.

The Rose half didn't. She simply moved toward the changing rooms a little quicker, the Harry and Rose being hearing Wood continuing to drone on about his Quidditch strategy. Mentally, the Harry and Rose being rubbed their hands together, then the Rose half balanced the tray carefully on one arm before opening the door. Caught by surprise, Wood stared at her and George jerked awake, Fred following suit a moment later.

"Breakfast!" She said with a cheerful grin.

"I was right in the middle of explaining a very important formation for our team so we can win this year." Wood responded irritably.

"And I'm hungry, so is everyone else." The Harry half responded as he grabbed a tray with a plate and goblet on it. "Besides, everyone will be a little more alert when they're eating."

"Well, before we eat this fabulous breakfast Rose has retrieved for us, I've got a question." George stated. "Why couldn't you have explained all of this yesterday, when we were awake, Oliver?"

Wood glowered and stated in a displeased voice, "Now, listen here, you lot. We should have won the Quidditch cup last year. We're easily the best team. But unfortunately, owing to circumstances beyond our control..."

The Harry and Rose being looked a little guilty at that, since they'd been in the hospital wing during the time they normally would have won the cup. Wood took a little time to regain control of himself and the Harry and Rose being frowned. He seemed quite obsessed over something as simple as a game.

"Well, thanks for this, Rose." Fred said with a smile, the others also thanking her, all but Oliver Wood.

"We didn't need this disruption to the schedule." Wood stated. "We've only got twenty minutes for me to finish explaining this before we go out there and train."

"Ease up, Oliver, seriously." The Harry and Rose being said with a little irritation.

"Ease up?" Wood asked, almost shouting. "Do you know how much work this is, what it's cost to get this far? You'll find out if you're ever Quidditch captain some day, then you'll know!"

"Harry and Rose are right." Katie Bell said as she dug in to her breakfast. "We'll eat, then go out there."

"Oh, fine." Wood responded. "But if we lose because of this, I'm not going to be happy with you, young lady." He pointed a finger firmly at the Rose half.

"Oh, very well, then." The Rose half replied. "But if we lose, it won't be because of lack of effort on our team's fault, will it?"

Everyone glanced up at her.

"Oh, come on, let's have a no, ma'am." The Rose half said with a bit of a grin.

"No, ma'am." They muttered.

"What!" The Rose half shouted. "I didn't hear that, let's try it again!"

"No, ma'am!" The Gryffindor team shouted, including the Harry half. The Harry and Rose being mentally laughed at the odd image of playing the individuals in this case.

"Right then, let's get our stomachs full and get out there to train!" The Rose half replied eagerly. Despite himself, Wood looked impressed with her impromptu speech.

"You wouldn't make a bad Captain." Wood said.

"I've got to do something to wake up, don't I?" The Rose half asked as the Harry half quickly ate.

The Rose half left them to it and made her way to Ron and Hermione, noticing the son was up. They'd been in the changing room quite a long time, then, she noted. As she sat, Ron asked, "Have they even started yet?"

"No, not yet." She replied. "I got them all to eat, though, so that's something at least. Wood's a real fanatic about Quidditch."

"Yeah? And you're a real fanatic about waking me up early in the morning." Ron responded with a fake glare.

"And you know you liked it." The Rose half retorted, gazing out over the Quidditch field.

After the team finished eating their breakfast, and Wood finished his explanations of their moves, they exited and kicked off from the ground. The Harry and Rose being grinned at the joy of flight, the Harry half racing Fred and George around the stadium. They soon became aware of Colin's camera clicking as he took pictures.

"What's that clicking noise?" Fred asked.

"Just Colin taking pictures." The Harry half responded as Colin called to him to get closer to him. Instead, the Harry half flew in a wide arc away from him, flying in a loop for the fun of it.

"What's going on? Why's that first year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program." Wood said with a frown as he flew over to them.

"He's in Gryffindor." The Harry half responded.

"And the Slytherins don't need a spy, Oliver." George responded.

Curious, the Harry and Rose being gazed out at the field and could see the Slytherin team walking on to the field with broomsticks in their hands. The Rose half frowned.

"Well, isn't this grand." She said. "The Slytherin team's here."

"What makes you say that?" The Harry half heard Wood ask.

"What?" The Rose half heard Ron ask, leaping up from his seat.

"Come on." The Rose half responded.

"Because they're here in person." The Harry half heard George respond at the same moment the Rose half and Ron spoke.

"It's just like them to come when the Gryffindors are training." The Rose half heard Ron grumble.

"I don't believe it!" The Harry half heard Wood say in outrage. "I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!"

"And apparently over Gryffindors having the field for the day." The Rose half said as she, Ron and Hermione clambered down the stands to the field below. At the same moment, the Harry half followed Wood to the ground.

"Flint! This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!" The Harry half heard Wood bellow angrily, the Rose half aware of his voice from a distance.

"This doesn't look so good." The Rose half heard Hermione say to herself.

"Plenty of room for all of us, Wood." The Harry half heard Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, reply.

"As usual, the Gryffindors and Slytherins are being confrontational." The Rose half said.

Angelina, Alicia, and Katie joined the rest of the Gryffindor team, who faced the Slytherins.

"But I booked the field! I booked it!" The Harry half heard Wood say, enraged.

"That's no surprise." The Rose half heard Ron say. "It's not as if we're friends or anything. Besides, you know how Slytherins are."

"Yes, I do." The Rose half replied.

At the same moment they were talking, the Harry half heard Flint say, "Ah, but I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape that says this. I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker."

"Hmm, seems the Slytherins have a new seeker." The Rose half said.

"Who?" The Rose half heard Ron ask.

At the same moment, the Harry half heard Wood ask in a distracted voice, "You've got a new Seeker? Where?"

"It's Malfoy." The Rose half said as the Harry half spotted him smirking.

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" The Harry half heard Fred ask.

"Typical, just Typical." The Rose half heard Ron respond as they got closer to the Gryffindors.

"Funny you should mention Draco's father." The entire Slytherin team was smiling as Flint spoke. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."

"Oh, please." The Rose half sighed quietly as seven new and shiny broomsticks were shown off, shiny gold lettering on them reading Nimbus Two Thousand.

"What is it now?" The Rose half heard Ron ask.

The Harry half heard Flint speaking at the same moment. "Very latest model. Only came out last month." He sounded as if it was something easy to afford that didn't really matter.

"They're just showing off their new broomsticks is all." The Rose half replied. "That's probably how they got on the team."

The Rose half heard Hermione huff in disgust and turned toward her. At the same moment, the Harry half heard Flint continue.

"I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps," He smiled in a nasty way at Fred and George, who both were using Cleansweep Fives. "Sweeps the board with them."

The Rose half heard Hermione speaking at the same time as they got closer, saying quietly, "If that's true, that's really quite terrible, buying your way on to a team?"

"Oh, look, a field invasion." Flint said as he saw Ron, Hermione and the Rose half coming to join the Gryffindors.

As Ron stared at the broomsticks the Slytherins had, he gaped. Recovering after a moment, Ron said, "Heard you're the new Seeker, Malfoy."

"That's right, Weasley. Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team." Malfoy added smoothly, "Good, aren't they? But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."

The Slytherin team howled in mirth and Malfoy looked smug.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in, they got in because of their talent." Hermione said sharply.

Malfoy's smug look flickered a little and he spat angrily, ""No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."

Instantly, there was an uproar of activity. Flint dove in front of Malfoy to stop Fred and George from jumping on him. Alicia shouted, "How dare you!" Ron pulled his wand from his robes and shouted, "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" He aimed it at Malfoy's face under Flint's arm and a green light exited the other end of the wand with a bang, hitting Ron in the stomach and sending him flying on to the grass.

"Ron!" The Harry and Rose being shouted along with Hermione, running over to him.

"Ron, Ron! Are you all right?" Hermione was saying in concern.

He opened his mouth to speak and belched loudly, several slugs falling from his mouth to his lap. The Slytherins were laughing so hard they couldn't move. Flint was doubled over with laughter, clutching his broomstick. Malfoy was on all fours hitting the ground with his fists, tears of laughter streaming from his eyes. The Gryffindors were surrounding Ron and the Harry and Rose being went to either side of him.

"Let's get him to Hagrid's, that's the closest." They said as they helped him to stand. "Come on, Ron."

Looking worried, Hermione stood behind him and the Rose half spotted Colin hurrying toward them as they left the field, saying, "What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill? But you can cure him, can't you?"

Ron heaved and more slugs dribbled down his front.

"Ooooh cool!" Colin said with fascination. "Can you hold him still, Harry?" He was raising his camera.

"Out of the way, Colin." The Harry and Rose being snapped angrily.

They continued to support Ron as they moved across the grounds to Hagrid's house at the edge of the forest.

"Almost there, Ron." The Harry and Rose being said reassuringly.

They were about twenty feet from the door when it opened. Professor Lockhart was exiting and the Harry and Rose being pulled Ron behind a bush.

"Over here, come on." They hissed to Hermione, who reluctantly followed.

"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing! If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book. I'm surprised you haven't already got one, I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, good-bye!" Professor Lockhart said loudly to Hagrid before striding toward the castle.

Once he was out of sight, the Harry and Rose being hurried to his door with Ron, Hermione following close behind. They urgently knocked and Hagrid opened the door, his grumpy expression brightening when he saw them.

"Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me, come in, come in, thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again..."

The Harry and Rose being supported Ron through the doorway and Hermione followed them inside. As they entered, the Harry and Rose being said, "Ron's got a bit of a slug problem, he's throwing them up."

Hagrid didn't seem worried, the Harry and Rose being noted as they lowered him into a chair. He simply said cheerfully, "Better out than in." He set a basin in front of him and added, "Get 'em all up, Ron."

"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop." Hermione anxiously said, watching Ron bending over the basin. "That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand..."

"Hey, away with you." The Harry and Rose being lightly pushed Fang away from them, who was slobbering on the Harry half's robes. He left with a bit of a whine and went to Hermione, who scratched him behind the ears. After a moment of watching Hagrid move around making tea, the Harry and Rose being asked, "What did professor Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?"

"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well, like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle." Hagrid growled in an irritated tone. The Harry and Rose being looked at him in surprise.

Hermione spoke in a voice higher than usual, saying, "I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job."

"He was the on'y man for the job." Hagrid responded, offering a plate of treacle fudge to them as Ron coughed into the basin. "An' I mean the on'y one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. So tell me." Hagrid glanced at Ron. "Who was he tryin' ter curse?"

"Malfoy." The Harry and Rose being replied. "He called Hermione something that must have been bad, everyone accept Hermione and me that is, seemed to think it wasn't very nice."

"It was bad." Ron said in a hoarse voice as he looked up from the basin, looking pale and sweaty. "He called her a Mudblood, Hagrid."

Ron hastily bent back over the basin again and Hagrid looked outraged.

"He didn'!" He growled angrily.

"He did." She replied. "But I don't know what it means. I could tell it was really rude, of course."

"It's about the most insulting thing he could think of." Ron gasped as he rose his head from the basin. "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born, you know, non-magic parents. There are some wizards, like Malfoy's family, who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood." He let out a small burp, a single slug falling into his hand. He threw it in the basin and continued. "I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all. Look at Nevillele Longbottom, he's pure-blood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up."

"An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can' do." Hagrid said proudly. Hermione blushed.

"It's a disgusting thing to call someone. Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's ridiculous. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd have died out." Ron said as he wiped his sweaty forehead with a shaking hand, then threw up more slugs into the basin.

"Well, I don blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron." Hagrid said, speaking loudly over the thuds of slugs hitting the basin. "Bu' maybe it was a good thing yer wand backfired. 'Spect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son. Least yer not in trouble."

"Trouble doesn't get much worse than poor Ron... Oh this is really annoying." The Rose half stated, grabbed the Harry half's jaw, then wrenched it open. The treacle fudge Hagrid had given them was more like glue. Perhaps, the Harry and Rose being thought, they shouldn't take it next time.

"Harry and Rose, gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?" Hagrid asked quite suddenly.

"I haven't been giving out signed photos." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly. "If professor Lockhart's still spreading that around I'll..."

They stopped when they noticed Hagrid laughing.

"I'm on'y jokin'." He said, patting the Rose half on the back hard enough to nearly send her into the table. "I knew yeh hadn't really. I told Lockhart yeh didn' need tha'. Yer more famous than him without tryin'."

"I bet he didn't like that." The Harry and Rose being said with a bit of a grin.

"Don' think he did. An' then I told him I'd never read one o' his books an' he decided ter go." Ron emerged and Hagrid added, "Treacle fudge, Ron?"

"No thanks, better not risk it." Ron responded weakly.

Aside from Ron's slug difficulty, the rest of that day passed normally. The Harry and Rose being spent quite a bit of time studying their work and practicing spells for Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Learning ahead of the other students was more difficult than they thought it would be, but even so, they enjoyed the challenge. As the Harry and Rose being curled up in bed that night, they smiled softly. This year at Hogwarts, there wasn't anything to protect, no Voldemort, and nothing out of the ordinary. For Hogwarts, everything was boringly normal, something they quite enjoyed, and when the full moon arrived again, they spent a perfect time with Ron and Hermione, their two best friends that accepted them fully. Everything was perfect, but their perfect normality was soon to be shattered. 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 The Death Day Party and the Mysterious Petrification

October 24, 1992.

With double the work of most students along with Wood's continued insistence on Quidditch practice despite the stormy weather, the Harry and Rose being found them self quite busy. They were able to learn at a rate that was actually challenging now, though, which the Harry and Rose being welcomed. It had been rather boring the prior year at Hogwarts despite the work they were given.

At the moment, the Rose half was in the room she and the Harry half used for sleeping or a quiet place to study. While she worked on writing essay's and practicing magic, the Harry half entered the castle after a cold, rainy Quidditch practice. As he walked through the corridors trailing mud and dripping water, he came upon Nearly Headless Nick who was muttering in a preoccupied manner. The Harry half looked a little preoccupied and troubled himself, the Harry and Rose being focusing on the essay the Rose half was writing about a more advanced potion Professor Snape had assigned them to research. They were also thinking about the Slytherins brooms that moved so fast they could hardly be seen.

It had been with a grudging reluctant's that Professor Snape had allowed the Harry and Rose being to learn at an accelerated rate, and with an even greater reluctant's that he allowed them to sign and turn in their work as the single being that they were. He stopped at allowing them to brew their potions together for now, though, stating that they didn't deserve that type of special treatment, and keeping them partnered with others would serve to allow them to learn even more, if such a thing was possible. The Harry and Rose being had accepted the challenge, and along with the rest of their studies, were learning Potions quickly.

The Harry half shook his head a little and blinked, looking at Nearly Headless Nick, who was staring out a window and muttering to himself in a preoccupied manner.

"What do they mean I don't fulfill their requirements... Half an inch, if that..."

"Hello, Nick." The Harry half said.

"Hello, hello." He responded, looking around and settling his gaze on the Harry half. "You look a bit troubled, young Potter, and I notice Rose isn't with you today."

"I'm studying." The Harry half responded. "I'm working on a Potions essay as I talk with you."

As most people were, Nearly Headless Nick looked confused at such a statement as that. To the Harry and Rose being, the statement was natural. To them, they were studying in their room at Gryffindor Tower and talking to Nearly Headless Nick at the same moment.

"You look a little troubled." The Harry half added. "Why?"

"Ah..." Nearly Headless Nick waved a hand in a dismissive manner. "A matter of no importance... It's not as though I really wanted to join... Thought I'd apply, but apparently I don't fulfill the requirements."

A moment of silence passed, then Nearly Headless Nick erupted again, yanking a letter out of his pocket.

"But you would think, wouldn't you, that getting hit forty-five times in the neck with a blunt axe would qualify you to join the Headless Hunt?"

Since Nearly Headless Nick was so named, the Harry and Rose being had to question the statement, though felt sympathetic for his situation. At the same moment, the Rose half looked carefully at a list of instructions for the Potion and wrote some more on the essay. The Harry half continued watching Nearly Headless Nick, who continued.

"I mean, nobody wishes more than I do that it had all been quick and clean, and my head had come off properly, I mean, it would have saved me a great deal of pain and ridicule. However..." Nearly Headless Nick shook open the letter and furiously read. "'We can only accept huntsmen whose heads have parted company with their bodies. You will appreciate that it would be impossible otherwise for members to participate in hunt activities such as Horseback Head-Juggling and Head Polo. It is with the greatest regret, therefore, that I must inform you that you do not fulfill our requirements. With very best wishes, Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore.'"

Still furious, Nearly Headless Nick shoved the letter back into his pocket and continued on his rant, though as he did so, the Harry and Rose being found them self understanding the regulations. The headless hunt, or whatever the committee was called, would no doubt have such strict guidelines to prevent a ghost such as Nearly Headless Nick, who wasn't actually headless by any means, to join the hunt.

"Half an inch of skin and sinew holding my neck on, Harry! Most people would think that's good and beheaded, but oh, no, it's not enough for Sir Properly Decapitated-Podmore." After some deep breaths, Nearly Headless Nick asked, "So what's bothering you, anything I can do?"

"Not unless you know where we can get seven free Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones to beat Slytherin." The Harry half stated, then quickly looked down at a high pitched sound.

Mrs. Norris was gazing up at him with her lamp like yellow eyes, skeletal and gray as usual. The Harry half swallowed and the Harry and Rose being's heart pounded. The Rose half's hands remained steady as she continued to write, but the Harry half's legs trembled ever so slightly.

"You'd better get out of here, Harry." Nick said quickly. "Filch isn't in a good mood-he's got the flu and some third years accidentally plastered frog brains all over the ceiling in dungeon five. He's been cleaning all morning, and if he sees you dripping mud all over the place..."

The Harry half was already starting to move off, but not quick enough. Filch, drawn to his cat as usual, burst through a tapestry and looked wildly around, his eyes settling on the Harry half and the mud he'd tracked into the castle.

"Filth!" Filch pointed at the mud and puddles on the floor, his eyes bulging with anger. "Mess and muck everywhere! I've had enough of it, I tell you! Follow me, Potter!"

The Harry half waved to Nearly Headless Nick as he followed Filch down to his office, the Rose half standing and moving to the window, gazing out on the rain soaked grounds with a sigh. As she turned slowly and moved back across the room, pacing to let out the Harry and Rose being's nervousness, the Harry half was led into Filch's office.

It was a dingy room with no window, lit with a single oil lamp, the faint scent of fried fish in the air. Wooden filing cabinets were along the walls, and from their labels, the Harry half noted they contained details of all the students Filch had punished. Fred and George Weasley had a drawer to themselves, unsurprising given their propensity for getting into trouble. Hanging on the wall behind Filch's desk were a highly polished collection of chains and manacles, something Filch threatened to use and begged Professor Dumbledore to allow.

The Harry half watched Filch as he grabbed a Quill and started looking for some type of parchment on his desk, muttering furiously to himself as he did so. As the Harry half watched and listened, the Rose half paced back and forth, their heart pounding.

"Dung, great sizzling dragon bogies ... frog brains... rat intestines... I've had enough of it... make an example... where's the form ... yes..."

Filch unrolled a piece of parchment in front of him on his desk, dipped his Quill into the ink pot, then started to write, saying what he wrote on the paper.

"Name... Harry Potter. Crime... Befouling the castle... Suggested sentence..."

Filch dabbed at his nose as he stared at the Harry half, who waited for their sentence to be stated and written. At least the Rose half hadn't been caught also, the Harry and Rose being thought. If she had, it was likely their punishment would have been doubled. Filch started to lower his Quill, then the Harry half heard a tremendous bang on the ceiling of Filch's office.

"PEEVES!" Filch roared furiously, flinging the Quill down and leaping up in rage. "I'll have you this time, I'll have you!"

As Filch ran from the office, the Harry half sank into a chair next to Filch's desk, the Rose half also sitting behind the desk in their room in the Gryffindor dormitory. The Harry and Rose being were glad for the timing of Peeves, who from the sound of it, had broken something quite valuable. Curiously, the Harry half looked at the desk, and apart from the partly completed form, pot of Quills, and an ink pot, there seemed to be an envelope that was large and glossy, purple with silver letters on its front. The Harry half gazed around the room and sat back in the chair with a sigh, deciding it probably wouldn't be a good idea to pry into Filch's personal items. The Harry and Rose being were rather curious, though, and hesitating a moment, the Harry half leaned forward, grabbed the envelope, then read the letters on its front.

KWIKSPELL A Correspondence Course in Beginner's Magic

The Harry half put the envelope back where he'd found it and sat back, deciding against opening it to find out what was inside. Filch was already angry enough. Satisfying their curiosity any further wouldn't be reasonable and would probably only serve to get them into further trouble. With that thought in mind, the Rose half continued working on the Potions essay, the Harry and Rose being focusing on the work completely until they heard Filch returning. By that point, the Harry and Rose being had finished it and decided to take a break for now, the Rose half sitting back in the chair.

When Filch entered his office, he looked rather triumphant, saying gleefully, "That vanishing cabinet was extremely valuable! We'll have Peeves out this time, my sweet!"

His eyes fell on the Harry half, then looked at the other items on the desk. The envelope was exactly where the Harry half had picked it up, and to his surprise, Filch only turned to him and said, "Out with you, Potter, and don't you let me catch you breaking rules again. I'll get you this time, Peeves!"

The Harry and Rose being couldn't believe their luck. Standing, the Harry half hurried from the office before Filch could change his mind, moving quickly up the stares. The Voice of Nearly Headless Nick stopped him.

"Harry! Harry! Did it work?" He glided out of a class room and the Harry half spotted the wreckage of a large black and gold cabinet. It looked as if it had been dropped from a rather high distance. Nick continued. "I persuaded Peeves to crash it right over Filch's office, thought it might distract him."

"Wow, thanks." The Harry half responded gratefully. "I didn't even get detention, so I guess it worked." As they headed up the corridor together, the Harry half turned to glance at him. "I wish I could do something for you regarding your Headless Hunt troubles."

Nick stopped and the Harry half was quick to stop before he walked through him.

"But there is something you could do for me." Nick began in an excited tone. "Harry, would I be asking too much, but no, you wouldn't want..."

"What is it?" The Harry half asked.

"Well, this Halloween will be my five hundredth deathday." Nick said as he drew himself into a dignified position.

"Oh." The Harry half replied, the Harry and Rose being not sure weather to be happy or sad about the prospect.

"I'm holding a party down in one of the roomier dungeons. Friends will be coming from all over the country. It would be such an honor if you would attend. Mrs. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger would be most welcome, too, of course-but I daresay you'd rather go to the school feast?" Nick watched the Harry half eagerly.

"No, I'll come. It should be interesting, I've never been to one before." The Harry half replied, trying to look understanding.

"My dear boy! Harry Potter, at my deathday party!" Nick looked excited. "And..." He trailed off. "Do you think you could possibly mention to Sir Patrick how very frightening and impressive you find me?"

"Sure." The Harry half responded, the Harry and Rose being concealing their surprise at what Nick had asked of them.

"Hey, Harry!" Ron said excitedly as the Harry half clambered through the portrait hole.

"Hi Ron." He responded as the Rose half stood and moved to get the Harry half's clothes.

"Finished Quidditch practice?" Ron asked, then looked out the window. "I'm glad I'm not on the team. Weather looks dead depressing if you ask me."

"Yeah, it does." The Harry half responded as he and the Rose half gazed out their appropriate windows. The rain had only gotten harder and they couldn't see anything outside. "I'll go change, then I've got something to tell both of you."

Ron and Hermione, who were both sitting together and working on their assignments, nodded. The Harry half entered their room and the Rose half turned toward him, the Harry half's clothes resting on the bed. As the Harry half pulled off his muddy and wet Quidditch uniform, the Rose half helped him, taking it as he changed into more comfortable clothes. He then exited the room with the Rose half behind him, both looking at the bright fire, grinning. Other people were arrayed around the room, talking, reading or working on assignments. Fred, George, and several other curious people were crowded around a table, feeding a Filibuster firework to a salamander. The Harry and Rose being looked at Ron and Hermione as they moved to them and sat down. Ron was working on a Potions assignment and looked to be about half way through it.

"I talked with Nearly Headless Nick earlier after I got inside from Quidditch. Apparently, he tried to join something called a Headless Hunt and was rejected since he's not actually headless." The Harry and Rose being said.

"That's understandable, I suppose." Hermione responded.

"But he actually got me out of Filch's office." The Harry and Rose being continued. "He persuaded Peeves to cause a little racket. I wanted to do something for him and ended up promising I'd go to his deathday party. You're both invited, too."

"A deathday party? I bet there aren't many living people who can say they've been to one of those, it'll be fascinating!" Hermione responded keenly.

"Why would anyone want to celebrate the day they died?" Ron asked in a grumpy tone. "Sounds like this weather to me, dead depressing..."

"I haven't any idea." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"So what happened with Filch?" Hermione asked.

"Well, as you can imagine, he didn't like me tracking mud and water through the castle despite the obvious fact that magic is perfectly capable of cleaning it up." The Harry and Rose being said, glancing over at the smoldering salamander for a moment. "He brought me to his office and..."

The salamander rocketed into the air with sparks and loud bangs, whirling around the Gryffindor common room. Percy Weasley was shouting at Fred and George as tangerine stars poured from the salamander's mouth. It took about a minute before it managed to escape into the fire with some more spectacular explosions and the Harry and Rose being gazed on, finding the treatment of the poor creature to have been rather cruel. It wasn't something they would have done, but given that it was Fred and George Weasley, they weren't surprised. Filch was forgotten in the chaos, though the Harry and Rose being didn't mind that much. Eventually, they brought some of their work out and studied with Ron and Hermione.

October 31, 1992.

Halloween was an exciting time for the students, as they were looking forward to the feast. Live bats decorated the great hall, Hagrid's pumpkins were carved into lanterns large enough for three men to sit in, and according to the roomers, dancing skeletons were going to be the entertainment for the night. The Harry and Rose being sighed at hearing all of this, though they weren't going to go back on their word.

Ron and Hermione were going with them, something they hadn't expected, though perhaps should have. They walked straight past the great hall that evening, which glittered invitingly with plates and its decorations, heading straight for the dungeons. Unlike the great hall, the candles lining the passage to Nearly Headless Nick's party were depressingly black, long, thin, and were burning bright blue. The light they cast was a dim, ghostly light. As they drew closer, the temperature dropped and the Harry half shivered, the Rose half drawing his robes around him and hugging him close in an effort to help him.

"What is that sound?" The Harry and Rose being asked, hearing what sounded like thousands of fingernails being drawn across a chock board. It was unpleasant to say the least.

"Is that supposed to be music?" Ron asked in a whisper.

They rounded a corner and saw Nearly Headless Nick standing in a doorway with black velvet drapes.

"My dear friends, welcome, welcome... So pleased you could come..." Nick said in a mournful tone, then swept his hat off and bowed them in.

It was unlike anything they'd ever seen before. Translucent, white people drifted around what looked to be a dance floor to the sound they'd heard before, which was apparently some sort of ghostly music. It was a dreadful sound, played by about thirty musical saws, the orchestra on a raised black-draped platform. A chandelier overhead blazed with a midnight blue light, several black candles also in the room. Their breath rose in a mist and it felt like stepping into a freezer, which made sense considering how cold a ghost was if you touched them.

"Let's look around." The Harry and Rose being said, staying close to one another.

"Careful not to walk through anyone." Ron said in a nervous voice.

They passed a group of gloomy nuns, a ragged man who wore chains, and the Fat Friar, a cheerful Hufflepuff ghost who was talking with a knight who had an arrow sticking out of his forehead. The Bloody Baron was there as well, the gaunt, staring ghost of Slytherin. The other ghosts were staying well away from him and the Harry and Rose being decided to do the same.

"Oh, no." Hermione said abruptly, stopping in her tracks. "Turn back, turn back, I don't want to talk to Moaning Myrtle."

"Who's that?" The Harry and Rose being asked as they did as she said.

"She haunts one of the toilets in the girls' bathroom on the second floor." Hermione responded.

"She haunts a toilet?" An incredulous Ron asked.

"Yes. It's been out-of-order all year because she keeps having tantrums and flooding the place. I never went in there anyway if I could avoid it; it's awful trying to have a pee with her wailing at you." Hermione replied.

"Look, food." Ron said eagerly.

They started to move toward a table covered in black velvet, but before they got too close, the Harry and Rose being stopped, smelling the scent of rotting, molding food, as if someone had left many items sitting out in the open for several months. The Rose half grabbed Hermione and the Harry half grabbed Ron. In response, they stopped and Hermione moved into the Rose half's arms.

"Oo, you're warm." She said.

"Thanks." The Rose half responded, adding, "We really don't want to go over there, nothing on that table is editable."

"How d'you know?" Ron asked.

"I can smell it." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Through the Rose half."

They watched as a ghost opened his mouth wide and passed through one of the food items. Even from this distance, the Harry half could smell it a little. The Harry and Rose being stepped back from their friends, both turning to face them.

"Hey, I was enjoying that." Hermione said.

"Sorry, Hermione, but I'm just too hot for you." The Rose half responded, the Harry and Rose being grinning and chuckling a little.

Before they could continue their conversation, Peeves swooped quickly over to them. He wore a bright orange party hat, a revolving bow tie, and a broad grin on his face. He also held a bowl of peanuts covered in fungus.

"Nibbles?" He offered sweetly.

"No thanks." Hermione replied.

"Heard you talking about poor Myrtle." Peeves said, eyes dancing. "Rude you was about poor Myrtle." He then took a deep breath and called loudly, "OY! MYRTLE!"

"Oh, no, Peeves, don't tell her what I said, she'll be really upset." Hermione said frantically. "I didn't mean it, I don't mind her... Er, hello, Myrtle."

A squat, ghostly girl glided over to them. Her face looked more depressing than any the Harry and Rose being had ever seen. Her hair was lank and half hid her face along with thick, pearly spectacles.

"What?" She asked in a sulky tone.

"How are you, Myrtle? It's nice to see you out of the toilet." Hermione said in a voice that sounded falsely bright.

Myrtle sniffed and Peeves whispered into her ear, "Miss Granger was just talking about you..."

"Just saying, saying, how nice you look tonight." Hermione added, glaring at Peeves.

Myrtle eyed Hermione suspiciously, tears forming in her small, transparent eyes.

"You're making fun of me." She said, sounding rather depressed.

"No, honestly, didn't I just say how nice Myrtle's looking?" Hermione asked, nudging Ron painfully in the ribs and giving the Harry and Rose being a sharp, significant glance.

"Oh, yeah." Ron responded.

"She didn't make fun of you." The Harry and Rose being added in a calm, understanding tone.

"Don't lie to me!" Myrtle gasped with tears pouring down her face, Peeves chuckling happily over her shoulder. "D'you think I don't know what people call me behind my back? Fat Myrtle! Ugly Myrtle! Miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle!"

"You've forgotten pimply." Peeves hissed in her ear.

Myrtle burst into anguished sobs and fled from the dungeon. Peeves followed her and pelted her with the peanuts he'd previously offered them, shouting, "Pimply! Pimply!"

"Oh, dear." Hermione said sadly.

"She's got serious emotional problems." The Harry and Rose being said as Nearly Headless Nick drifted toward them through the crowd.

"Enjoying yourselves?" He asked.

"It's certainly interesting." The Harry and Rose being responded as Ron and Hermione said, "Oh, yes."

"Not a bad turnout." Nick said proudly. "The Wailing Widow came all the way up from Kent... It's nearly time for my speech, I'd better go and warn the orchestra..."

As it turned out, warning them wasn't needed. They stopped playing and everyone fell silent, looking around in excitement. A hunting horn sounded and Nick stated bitterly, "Oh, here we go."

About a dozen ghost horses burst through the wall, a headless horsemen riding each one. Everyone started to clap and the Harry and Rose being joined in until they caught sight of Nick's face. The horses stopped in the middle of the dance floor and the leader, who held his bearded head under an arm, leapt down and held his head high above him. The crowd laughed and the man strode over to Nick, putting his head back on his neck.

"Nick! How are you? Head still hanging in there?" He clapped Nick on the shoulder.

"Welcome, Patrick." Nick stated stiffly.

"Live 'uns!" He said as he spotted the Harry and Rose being, Ron, and Hermione. He gave a fake jump of astonishment so his head fell off, the crowd howling with laughter.

"Very amusing." Nick stated darkly.

"Don't mind Nick!" Patrick's head shouted from the floor. "Still upset we won't let him join the Hunt! But I mean to say-look at the fellow..."

Nick gave the Harry and Rose being a meaningful look. They then stated hurriedly, "I think Nick's very frightening and, well..."

"Ha!" Patrick's head shouted. "Bet he asked you to say that!"

"If I could have everyone's attention, it's time for my speech!" Nick said loudly as he moved to the podium and stood under an icy blue spotlight. He cleared his throat, then began.

"My late lamented lords, ladies, and gentlemen, it is my great sorrow..."

No one heard much more than that, as Patrick and the rest of his men started a game of head hockey. Nick tried in vane to get everyone's attention again, but gave up as Patrick's head sailed past him, nearly everyone cheering loudly. The Harry half rubbed his hands together and shivered before the Rose half, shivering a little herself, clutched his hands and pushed her body against his.

"I can't stand much more of this." Ron said through chattering teeth as the Harry and Rose being's stomachs growled in hunger, the orchestra resuming their music and the ghosts sweeping back on the dance floor.

"Let's go." The Harry and Rose being agreed.

They moved toward the door, nodding and beaming at everyone who looked at them. When they entered the passage way, they hurried back into the warmth and away from the dungeon full of ghosts.

"Pudding might not be finished yet." Ron said hopefully, leading them toward the entrance hall.

The Harry and Rose being felt their blood freeze, hearing a voice that was more cold and chilling than they could have imagined.

"Rip... Tear... Kill..."

The Rose half didn't hesitate. She ran quickly, the Harry and Rose being's heart pounding quickly in their chest. Ron shouted, "Rose!" The Rose half was well ahead of them now, sprinting at the full speed given to her due to her condition.

"A voice, I heard a voice." The Harry half said as the Rose half ran as quickly as she could, entering the entrance hall and sprinting to the first floor, then stopped to listen again.

"Kill... Time to kill... I smell blood..."

The Rose half turned in the direction of the voice and sprinted faster, the Harry half running after her with Ron and Hermione following.

"It's going to kill, whatever it is, it's going to kill!" The Harry half called frantically as the Rose half hurtled in to the second floor and around a corner, then entered a passage way. She slipped on some water on the floor as she heard the meow of Filch's cat, throwing her arms out to break her fall. At that moment, she heard a slithering sound and saw a flash of yellow. Instantly, the Harry and Rose being was no more, ripped in half.

The Harry half stumbled, tripped, flailing as he fell to the floor, staring without comprehension at the ceiling and the flat, dull faces of Ron and Hermione, both of whom stared down at him in concern.

"Harry! Harry!" They shouted, the sound flat, dull, thoughts unfocused and slow. The Harry half opened his mouth.

"No..." He whispered weakly, feeling only one body, one mind, everything dulled to something flat and unimportant. "Help me... Rose half... No Rose half..."

Hermione put out a shaking hand and the Harry half took it, stumbling to his feet before he turned and started to run again, movements jerky, robotic. Ron and Hermione followed and tried to get him to slow down, to explain, but he couldn't explain that he was just Harry, not the Harry and Rose being anymore. Even he couldn't explain it, and while it was true, he felt nothing, as if everything where his feelings had been was a hollow pit of emptiness. He ran past the entrance hall and up the stairs to the second floor, sprinting through the passage ways to find what had happened to the Rose half, find where Rose was. There was no more Rose half, no more Harry and Rose being, only half a being, half a person. Harry and Rose, no Harry and Rose being, but Rose was no more, gone, ripped away as if something tragic had happened. Harry didn't feel hungry anymore, was hardly aware of his hard breathing and pounding heart. The rout the Rose half had taken was on his mind with absolute clarity and he followed it, sliding into the passage with water on the floor, wildly staring around.

The Rose half, Rose, was on the floor, arms supporting her after her fall had been broken. The Harry half, Harry, stared at her in a rigid pose, her body unnaturally stiff. He knelt next to her and stared down at her, touching her cold skin. As Ron and Hermione came upon Harry, he only continued to stare, hardly aware of anything else happening around him. It was as if everything was vague and indistinct. Slowly, Harry started to move Rose and Hermione clutched his wrist.

"Harry, no!" She said frantically. "We should contact a professor and get them here to look at everything before you..."

"Let, go." The Harry half stated in a flat, robotic tone.

Hermione only clung on tighter and the Harry half pried her hand loose before flipping Rose over. Her arms and hands were extended above her and the Harry half grabbed them, touched her cold, rigid skin, stared into her glassy blue eyes, open and staring on and on at nothing, nothing because she was dead. But if she was dead, why would she be so rigid? Harry didn't understand and he stared, vaguely aware of a crowd of voices, people flooding into the passage, screams, shouts. None of it seemed to matter. He only clutched Rose's cold, stiff hands and stared into her eyes, willing something, anything to happen. Gradually, it seemed, the students cleared away, the vague background voices faded, and Harry stared on. A hand gently rested on his shoulder and the Harry half slowly turned his head, staring at the vague, indistinct face of Professor Dumbledore.

"Harry." He said gravely. His blue eyes did not twinkle and he looked grieved. "You must let Rose go. We need to determine what happened to her."

Harry didn't release Rose. Gently, Professor Dumbledore tried to pry Harry's hands from hers but he only clung on tighter, climbing on her cold body and paying little attention as she was levitated with him on top of her. He only stared at her face, seeming to be carved from stone, the expression of desperate concentration frozen forever and ever on her face that looked so pretty. It was then, as Harry stared at Rose and realized just how beautiful she was, that he began to feel again, a deep sadness welling up within him. He was vaguely aware of sobs as he cried and clutched Rose's hands desperately, tears dripping from his eyes on to her beautiful face, a face that would forever be pretty, staring at her statue body and desperately wishing she would come back to him, would become a part of him again as it was meant to be. Soon, however, the sadness started to fade, replaced with a terrible emptiness he knew he'd live with forever. He felt as if he was broken, as if he was only a shell of someone that used to be, and nothing could make him feel again. Nothing but Rose, who was dead, never coming back, would always remain a statue, and he would always visit her. He desperately clung to what was left of Rose, staring on with a hollow emptiness, emotionless. 


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 The Healing Effect, Search For Clues, and the Legend of the Chamber

Ron and Hermione followed Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Lockhart, staring at Harry desperately clinging to Rose, who looked like a statue. Filch's cat was being carried by Professor McGonagall, and Filch also followed, sobbing in grief for what he'd lost. They entered Professor Lockhart's office and it was only then that Ron and Hermione realized Professor Snape was with them also. Professor Dumbledore, who had been levitating Rose and Harry, lowered them to the desk and stared at them gravely, moving close to Rose along with Professor McGonagall, gently tapping her with his wand, prodding her with his fingers. Professor Lockhart was speaking in the background, perhaps offering suggestions.

"It was definitely a curse that killed them, probably the Transmogrifian Torture, I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very counter-curse that would have saved them..."

"As it so happens, Gilderoy, neither Rose nor Mrs. Norris are dead. They are merely petrified." Professor Dumbledore said.

Ron and Hermione sighed with relief and Harry looked up into Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"Heal, her." Harry said in a flat, emotionless tone that sent chills down Hermione's spine. "Heal, my, Rose."

"I am afraid that is currently not possible. However, Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive both Rose and Mrs. Norris." Professor Dumbledore said patiently, but in a tone of deep grief and regret.

"I, need, Rose." Harry stated, his tone becoming even flatter and less emotionless if it was at all possible. "Feel, everything, slipping, away."

Professor Dumbledore stared on gravely, but was brought out of his contemplation by Hermione who shouted, "Professor Dumbledore, what does that mean? Why is everything slipping away from him? Can you do anything? You have to! You can't let him die!"

"Be calm, Ms. Granger." Professor Dumbledore responded.

"But..." Hermione began.

"There are two poss abilities that, I believe, are relevant to the circumstances." Professor Dumbledore stated firmly. "Either Harry Potter will, along with Rose, become petrified himself, though as he was not directly exposed to the method of petrification, such a thing will proceed more slowly. The other is more unlikely, but, perhaps, may still occur. Their very bond may prevent Rose from remaining petrified, though I believe only such a thing will be possible if Harry Potter has the will to heal her."

"I, try... Nothing..." The Harry half stated, the pauses between his words lengthening, his face and eyes starting to look as rigid as Rose's were.

From his point of view, everything was slowing and becoming more difficult, Harry didn't remove his eyes from Rose, but he was starting to feel something else, a fierce desperation to heal her, to make her come back to him. As if moving through a thick mud, Harry began to lean closer to Rose, staring into her glassy blue eyes.

"There must be something, anything..." Hermione said frantically.

"At present, there is nothing I am able to accomplish." Professor Dumbledore replied.

"Then I will!" Filch howled in grief and rage. "I demand to see some punishment!"

"You still hold the belief that Harry petrified both of them, Argus? I can assure you that such a thing is far beyond him. In addition, it would be most similar to asking you to freeze an arm, your face, perhaps, or any other of your body parts. To Harry, Rose is as much a part as your own limb. It is inconceivable to me to imagine the pain Harry is currently enduring, but one way or another, it will end." Professor Dumbledore put a hand reassuringly on Harry's back and muttered, "Hold on, Harry. It will end soon."

"Rose... Come... Back... Now..." Harry stated, seconds between his words now. Hermione let out a choked sob, staring on in horror.

"Do something, Professor, do something!" She cried. Ron looked pale and gulped.

"I can do nothing." Professor Dumbledore said, unshed tears in his blue eyes.

"Rose... Is... Pretty..." Harry stated in a whisper as he drew closer to her, his face inches from hers.

"That she is." Professor Dumbledore responded with a hitch in his voice. "You need not worry, Harry. It will end soon."

"Yes..." Harry stated, and very slowly, his lips pressed to the cold, rigid ones of Rose.

Hermione let out a howl of grief and clung to Ron, who staggered slightly. Both were crying and the Professor's gazed on, Dumbledore and McGonagall without expression, Professor Snape looking somehow concerned, and Professor Lockhart looking grave. Filch had his head in his hands, shaking with silent sobs, though his were likely directed at his cat rather than either Harry or Rose.

A gentle, golden light started to pour from Harry into Rose as they watched. Hermione gasped and Professor Dumbledore's eyes widened. Something like triumph seemed to flash across his face before Rose suddenly came to life again as if someone switched on a robot. The Harry and Rose being was back and Harry tangled his hands in Rose's long hair as she did the same to him, both bodies kissing gently as the golden light grew brighter. Everything became clear again and well defined, even more so than ever before. The Harry and Rose being clung to each other and started to cry in deep, wrenching sobs of relief and terror at what they'd just experienced, what the Harry half had experienced. The gap in the Rose half's memory was being filled with the events that had happened with the Harry half, and thoughts and feelings that had been out of sink were returning to their normal state, everything shared, everything one as it should be. Shaking and sobbing, the Harry and Rose being climbed from the desk and clutched each other's hands tightly before hugging again, faces buried in the other's shoulder as their emotions whirled within them. They never, ever wanted to go through anything like that again.

"I think," Professor Dumbledore said gently. "That you would be wise to return to your common room. I shall escort the four of you there."

The Harry and Rose being moved to their friends. The Harry half grabbed Hermione who put an arm around his shoulders, the Rose half gripping Ron's arm, both simply feeling the sensations of the world. It was like moving from the darkness into a bright, illuminating light. They proceeded to the Gryffindor common room with Professor Dumbledore. After entering, he left them and the Harry and Rose being pulled Ron and Hermione into their room. Once the door was closed and locked behind them, they let go of their friends and turned to face them, still terrified.

"I need to tell you what happened." They said, voices shaking. "I have to talk about it..."

"It's okay." Hermione said gently. "You don't have to tell us."

"Please..." The Harry and Rose being pleaded. "I need to tell you, please... I can't just keep this to myself."

"Okay." Hermione said, reaching out and patting them on their shoulders.

"The Rose half was running, running to the second floor." The Harry and Rose being began, clutching each other's hands and feeling grounded with the normal and natural way of things, two bodies, two minds, the world with all its clarity and definition again. "She slipped on water, tried to reach out to break her fall, heard a slithering and saw a flash of yellow..."

The Harry and Rose being took a deep breath, some tears rolling down their faces.

"It was horrible, like someone ripped everything you are in two, the world flat, dull. It was like everything had a thick curtain over it and all the feeling was taken out of the world, out of everything..." The Harry and Rose being said hesitantly, feeling a need to get it out, to tell their friends. "I wasn't the Harry and Rose being anymore, it wasn't even the Harry half that I was, it was just Harry, only Harry. It was so unnatural, one body, senses flat and dull because there wasn't that from the Rose half anymore, there wasn't even a Rose half it was just Rose, only Rose... And I couldn't think as fast, it was only Harry, just Harry's mind, Rose was gone, torn away with force. You saw the Harry half run."

"Yeah." Hermione said, her voice catching. Ron stared on, still pail, some tears in his eyes.

"Getting to Rose was all that mattered to me, I had to find her, had to make her come back. But when I found her, she was nothing more than a statue and I knew, I just knew that she would be that way forever and ever, and ever..." The Harry and Rose being trailed off and Hermione let out a choked sob.

"I couldn't let her go, she was all that mattered. She was so still, so beautiful, I knew I couldn't just leave her. I had to stay. I stayed no matter what, felt my empty feelings becoming a terrible grief, but returning to that hollow emptiness afterward. And I didn't even notice, but even then, I was becoming slower in my thoughts, movements, as if I was gradually, slowly becoming just as petrified as Rose." The Harry and Rose being shuttered.

"It wasn't until Professor Dumbledore said there might be a chance that I felt determined to save her, to heal her. I could only think of one thing to do. The thought was so absurd, but Rose was the sleeping beauty, so I moved slowly and even slower, trying with everything that I had to kiss her and bring her back to me. I felt her lips on mine, so cold and rigid like stone, but my determination stayed. Everything seemed to freeze for an instant and everything rushed back, as if the son had been brought into a dark world. It felt right to be kissing her then, but it was so terrifying, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. Rose was terrified because I was afraid, but she didn't know why, didn't understand. Our thoughts were separated, she desperately wanted to comfort me and I was so scared of what had happened, relieved to have her back with me, terrified that we would remain separated forever. Our thoughts and feelings gradually returned to the natural way, one set of thoughts, one mind in two, and the Harry and Rose being was back."

They sighed with relief and felt as if a giant burden had been released from them. Somehow, they felt as if they would never go through such a thing again, as if their bond, the Single Soul Bond that they possessed, was stronger than it had ever been, binding them so tightly that anything which effected one, at least in a magical sense, would also effect the other. That was as it should be.

"Thanks, Hermione, Ron." The Harry and Rose being said, smiling a little. "Thanks for listening, I needed to say that."

"I'm glad you're back with us, that was terrible to see." Ron said in relief and Hermione moved to hug them, the Harry and Rose being hugging her back.

A long few minutes passed as the Harry and Rose being sat on the bed, Ron and Hermione looking around the room with interest. Both seemed to be searching for something to get their mind off of what had happened.

"I've never heard of such a room before, not until you two used it the first night." Hermione said with fascinated interest.

"Professor Dumbledore told me it's for married couples." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Magic considers us married, so we can use it."

"That wasn't in Hogwarts, A History." Hermione responded.

"Neither was the sorting ceremony, or you'd have known what to do." The Harry and Rose being responded with a grin.

"Is it comfortable here?" Ron asked.

"Yes, it's nice and warm when I'm sleeping, sometimes I don't want to get up." The Harry and Rose being replied. "But on another subject, there's something... I heard a voice before the Rose half took off to try and track it down."

"I remember you mentioned that." Hermione said.

"It was cold, murderous, it sounded as if it was determined to kill and would do so at any cost." The Harry and Rose being said. "It almost seemed to have a hissing with it. I heard something slithering before the Rose half was ripped from me."

"Do you know what it was?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"No, but I think we should search for clues." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"Go back there, after what you experienced?" Ron asked. "Maybe that's not a good idea."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, and besides, I need to face it again, to know that corridor isn't necessarily associated with anything evil or terrible." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Okay." Hermione said. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure." The Harry and Rose being responded. "I'm also sure that nothing, nothing like that will ever happen again. Either I'll be completely petrified or not, not half way again. So you don't have to worry about that."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure, I just feel like that's the case, like the bond I have is more powerful than it was before somehow." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"You look tired." Hermione said. "Maybe we should leave you to sleep."

"Yeah. I do feel tired now that you mentioned it." The Harry and Rose being stated.

"Well, we'll let you sleep, then." Ron responded as he and Hermione headed for the door. "Night, mate."

"Night, Ron, Hermione." The Harry and Rose being replied.

Once Ron and Hermione left, they changed and climbed into bed, hugging each other close. Somehow, the contact now seemed more intimate, more comfortable somehow. Slowly, hesitantly, the Harry and Rose being kissed, feeling as if the contact was right, as if it fit exactly what they were meant to do. They felt shivers of pleasure from the act, and slowly, the Harry and Rose being caressed each other, feeling the coolness of the Harry half's hands on the Rose half's skin, the hot warmth of the Rose half's hands on the Harry half's skin. Embracing firmly but gently, they quickly drifted into a relaxed sleep, and unnoticed to them, a soft golden light caused their bodies to glow before sinking into them.

The next day, the Harry and Rose being woke earlier than most, changing into clothes for the day and feeling more energy and focus than they ever had. Everything seemed more in sync somehow, more defined, more one from the two bodies. They were thrilled at the sensations and the Rose half moved around the room, touching and staring at things as the Harry half finished dressing, the Harry and Rose being marveling at the increased feel that their two bodies were one being. They didn't know or care what consequences, if any, they would have from this increased level to how they'd always been, they only enjoyed what was natural and right.

Calmly, the Harry and Rose being pushed open the door to their room and quietly closed it behind them, moving across the common room and exiting. It was five o'clock, so they reasoned it was safe enough to proceed where they wanted to go. They moved through the empty corridors, gazing in two different directions, watching both sides of the corridors at once. As they walked, they clasped hands and felt a shiver of pleasure move through their bodies. This was right somehow, this was the way it was meant to be. It wasn't a relationship with them self as they'd thought, it was simply their bodies and the path they were supposed to take. The Harry and Rose being no longer felt awkward about the potential for a relationship between the male and female, only felt a deep sense that it was natural just as their peculiar way of living was.

The Rose half listened and watched carefully as the Harry and Rose being approached the second floor corridor where the Rose half had been ripped from them, tearing apart the Harry and Rose being. Their heart pounded and all was quiet. Carefully, they stepped into the passage and the Harry and Rose being took different sides to look at. The water that had been on the floor was gone, but the Rose half spotted words that the Harry half hadn't noticed before. They gleamed on the wall between two windows and were about a foot high.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

The Harry half got on his hands and knees, carefully searching for any clues he might find on the floor. He found a couple of scorch marks as the Rose half gazed intently at the windows on either side of the words. At the top of one, several spiders were climbing a long, silvery thread, almost seeming to be frantic with the desire to get out. As the Harry half stood, the Rose half joined him and they moved along the hall, gazing at the doors. One led to a girls bathroom, and curious, the Rose half crouched, moving her hands along the door. The bottom of it was slightly damp, indicating this was likely the place the water had come from. Given that this was the girls bathroom on the second floor, the Harry and Rose being reasoned that Moaning Myrtle might have had something to do with the water being there, though they couldn't know for certain. After the Harry and Rose being straightened, they heard shuffling footsteps approaching and quickly moved off. Filch, eyes red from crying, hobbled into view with a bottle of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover in his hands. They didn't stick around to find out what he was doing, simply moved off.

Roomers ran wild about the attack on Rose and Mrs. Norris, no one talking of anything else for several days. People swamped the Harry and Rose being with questions, particularly the Rose half, wanting to know why she wasn't petrified anymore. The Harry and Rose being got a great deal of practice telling their story in a short form, and eventually, simply ended up saying, "The Harry half needed the Rose half and kissed his sleeping beauty back to life."

Girls in particular, Muggle born ones who understood the reference, would get misty-eyed at the proclamation and found it quite romantic. The Harry and Rose being didn't find it romantic, it was simply a fact.

Filch could be found pacing the corridor where the attack had happened, perhaps hoping the attacker would return so he could give them punishment. The Harry and Rose being felt sorry for him and had seen him scrubbing the wall to try and remove the words, but nothing happened. They remained gleaming as brightly as ever. He didn't let students forget what had happened, either, moving through the corridors with red eyes and trying to put students in detention for things like breathing loudly or looking happy. Of course, such things never worked, and the Harry and Rose being were glad that there was some type of checks and balance system in place for him.

Ginny, Ron's younger sister, was very disturbed by what had happened to Mrs. Norris. According to Ron, she loved cats a great deal and had tried to reassure her, making a joke that perhaps the attacker would petrify Filch before being caught. The Harry and Rose being hoped that didn't happen.

Hermione could be found reading almost constantly, and despite what the Harry and Rose being asked, they couldn't discover why. It wasn't until Wednesday, the forth of November, that they found out what she was up to. After having been held back by Snape in Potions, the Harry and Rose being had a quick lunch before making their way to the library to meet Ron. Justin Finch-Fletchley was coming toward them and the Harry and Rose being said hello. Justin only turned and sped away from them, though seemed to move away from the Rose half in particular.

That wasn't surprising to the Harry and Rose being, as there had been whispers about the Rose half going dark, joining with the rest of the Black's, and some day, perhaps, she would join up with You-Know-Who and drag Harry along with her. They paid little attention to such talk, though, as it was complete rubbish. The Harry and Rose being would never join Voldemort. And using such aliases as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was simply ridiculous in their opinion, and something they decided not to do ever again.

Ron could be found in the back of the library measuring his History of Magic homework. Professor Binns had asked for three feet on the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards. The Harry and Rose being had already finished the assignment given to them, and instead, was working on practicing non-verbal magic. Speaking allowed seemed to strengthen their magic, but they were starting to understand and get the hang of performing magic quietly.

As the Harry and Rose being approached Ron, he looked up, then back down at his paper and let it go. It sprang back into a roll.

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short... And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny." Ron said angrily.

"Where is she?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Somewhere over there." Ron pointed to a set of shelves. "I think she's trying to read the entire library before Christmas."

"Before I came up here, I ran into Justin Finch-Fletchley, you know, the Hufflepuff from Herbology?" The Harry and Rose being said. Ron nodded in acknowledgement. "He ran away from me for some reason."

"Hmm." Ron stated as he started writing, trying to make his letters as large as possible. "Dunno why you care. I thought he was a bit of an idiot. All that junk about Lockhart being so great..."

"Oh, please, everyone thinks that." The Harry and Rose being responded as Hermione emerged from between the book shelves, looking irritable, but ready to talk with them. She sat next to the Rose half and the Harry and Rose being smiled at her.

"Hi, Hermione." They said.

"Hello, Harry and Rose being." She said absently, then added in a more irritable voice, "All the copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out, and there's a two-week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books."

"Why do you want it?" The Harry and Rose being asked curiously.

"The same reason everyone else wants it, to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets." Hermione responded.

"The Chamber of Secrets." The Harry and Rose being pondered. "Doesn't ring a bell, what is it?"

"That's just it. I can't remember." Hermione bit her lip. "And I can't find the story anywhere else."

"Hermione, let me read your composition." Ron said desperately as he checked his watch. Hermione looked suddenly severe.

"You know, Ron, if you'd have actually worked on that and didn't procrastinate so much, you'd have been finished by now." The Harry and Rose being said with a grin.

"But I only need another two inches..." Ron began.

"Copying another's work isn't the proper way to learn, Ron. You're not borrowing mine." Hermione replied in a severe voice. "The Harry and Rose being is right, you should have been working on that throughout the ten days you've had to finish it."

The bell rang during Hermione's lecture and they all stood, Ron and Hermione arguing as the Harry and Rose being followed behind them to History of Magic, the dullest subject they had. Professor Binns was an ancient, shriveled ghost of a man who, people said, had gotten up one morning from the armchair in the staff room, leaving his body behind. The most exciting thing that ever happened was him floating through the black board before teaching. He never varied his routine and had a voice that droned on and on, flat, dull, and something that either made you want to fall asleep or work on something else. As a result, the Harry and Rose being often worked ahead from the books they had, though were mindful to pay attention to what assignments he gave so they could turn them in.

As expected, the day was as boring as it ever was. Professor Binns opened his notes and read in a flat, droning voice as he always did, lulling everyone into a stupor. The Harry and Rose being let them self doze, leaning against each other, the Rose half's cheek on the Harry half's head, his head on her shoulder. The voice of the ghost had just started to become background noise when something changed. The Harry and Rose being sat up and stared at Hermione, who had risen her hand. Professor Binns looked rather amazed.

"Miss... Er..." He said.

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets." She said in a clear voice.

Dean Thomas jerked out of his trance, having been staring out the window with his mouth open. Lavender Brown rose her head from her arms. Neville Longbottom's elbow slipped off his desk and he hastily sat up. Professor Binns blinked.

"My subject is History of Magic. I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends." Professor Binns said in his dry, dull tones before clearing his throat and continuing on with his lecture. "In September of that year, a subcommittee of Sardinian sorcerers..." He stopped again, Hermione's hand waving in the air. "Miss Grant?"

"Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?" Hermione asked.

Professor Binns was staring at her in amazement and the Harry and Rose being wondered if anyone had ever interrupted him before now, weather he'd been alive or dead.

"Well, yes, one could argue that, I suppose." Professor Binns stated slowly, gazing at Hermione as if he'd never seen a student before. "However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational, even ludicrous tale..."

The entire class was attentive, sitting straight up and looking at him with wrapped attention. Professor Binns gazed at all of them, amazed at the attention he was now receiving.

"Oh, very well." Professor Binns said slowly. "The Chamber of Secrets... You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago, the precise date is uncertain, by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

Professor Binns paused and gazed around briefly before continuing.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

Professor Binns paused once again, his lips pressed together. He looked like a wrinkled old tortoise.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much. But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

Silence fell, but unlike usual, the silence was an uneasy, alert silence rather than a sleepy and inattentive one. Everyone looked at Professor Binns, who looked irritated, though the students were hoping to hear more. After a moment, he spoke again.

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course." Professor Binns stated. "Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

Hermione rose her hand again.

"Sir, what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?" Hermione asked.

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control." Professor Binns responded.

The Harry and Rose being thought of the slithering sound, the flash of yellow. They shuttered a little in their seats. A monster indeed, perhaps some type of snake, though it would have to be something unusual. As they thought and remembered the memory of the Rose half staring at the yellow reflection, they realized it was a reflection of eyes. The Harry and Rose being gripped hands and gazed around at their nervous classmates.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist." Professor Binns shuffled his notes. "There is no Chamber and no monster."

"But, sir, if the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

"Nonsense, O'Flaherty,. If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven't found the thing..." Professor Binns began in an aggravated tone.

"But, Professor, you'd probably have to use Dark Magic to open it..." Parvati Patil began, but was interrupted by Professor Binns.

"Just because a wizard doesn't use Dark Magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Pennyfeather." Professor Binns snapped. "I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore..."

Again, Professor Binns was cut off, this time by Dean Thomas.

"But maybe you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't..."

Professor Binns had had enough of the idle speculating and questions, however, and stated sharply, "That will do. "It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable fact!"

And like that, Professor Binns continued on with his boringly familiar lecture. The Harry and Rose being didn't doze now, though their mind was whirling with speculation about what the monster could be, remembering what the Rose half had heard, the reflection of the yellow eyes that had ripped her from the Harry half. They remembered the voice and its hissing undertone, the sound the Rose half had heard just before looking at the reflection of the yellow eyes. A snake seemed likely given everything that they'd heard, but who knew with the magical world. Something could resemble a snake in sound and voice, but be something quite different. As the Harry and Rose being thought, they gazed around at the class falling into their usual stupor, and when the bell rang, they eagerly got up.

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony." Ron told the Harry and Rose being and Hermione, the four of them moving through the crowded corridors to drop off their bags before they went to eat dinner. "But I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his house if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home..."

Hermione nodded in agreement and the Harry and Rose being remembered, as if it were yesterday, their own sorting. The hat had told them, "I do believe Slytherin would put you on the path of greatness. It's all here in your mind, are you so sure you don't want Slytherin?" They had fervently thought, "Gryffindor." It was something the Harry and Rose being had never told Ron and Hermione, as they'd never considered it anything out of the ordinary. Now, however, with the talk of the Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin's heir, they wondered if it had been the better decision in the beginning to say nothing, despite having thoughts about telling them. Their thoughts were interrupted as Colin spoke.

"Hiya, Harry and Rose!"

"Hullo, Colin." The Harry and Rose being responded, almost automatically.

"Harry, Harry, a boy in my class has been saying you're..." Colin began, but was so small he was forced to go toward the great hall with the tide of people moving in that direction. He then squeaked, "See you, Harry, Rose!" They lost sight of him as he was swept away, turning back to Hermione and Ron.

"What's a boy in his class saying about the Harry half?" Hermione asked.

The Harry and Rose being still felt delighted at Hermione's acceptance of them, even now. Even more so in a way since her use of the terminology they considered proper sounded almost automatic. They beamed, though their faces fell into a bit of a frown moments later as a thought dawned on them.

"Maybe that the Harry half's Slytherin's heir." The Harry and Rose being stated. They remembered how Justin had run from them earlier that day.

"People here will believe anything." Ron said in disgust.

As the crowd thinned, they were able to climb the staircase without difficulty. Thoughts lingered in the Harry and Rose being's mind, thoughts about the Chamber, its monster, and Slytherin's heir, whoever that was. As they reached the landing, Ron asked Hermione, "D'you really think there's a Chamber of Secrets?"

"I don't know." Hermione frowned. "Dumbledore couldn't cure either Mrs. Norris or the Rose half, and given what the Harry and Rose being told us, I wonder if whatever this monster is isn't human."

They stopped in the corridor where the Harry and Rose being had been ripped apart, and where the peculiar words continued to gleam on the wall. An empty chair was against the wall where the words were, which Ron speculated was where Filch had been keeping guard. They all looked at one another in the deserted corridor.

"I came here the day after to look for clues." The Harry and Rose being stated. "I found some scorch marks and what looked like a line of spiders desperately trying to climb from that window." The Rose half pointed. "And this bathroom was where the water came from that night." The Harry half pointed at the door.

"That's a girls bathroom." Ron said.

"Yes, how very astute of you, Ron. There may be hope for you yet." The Harry and Rose being grinned.

"I wonder if Moaning Myrtle knows anything." Hermione said as she headed toward the door.

"But Hermione, we can't go in there." Ron said.

"Nonsense, no one goes in there anyway. Besides, it's out of order, see?" Hermione indicated the sign and they all drew close, Hermione leading the way into the gloomiest bathroom the Harry and Rose being had ever seen.

A mirror, large and cracked, was above a row of chipped sinks. The floor was damp, reflecting the dull light given off by the stubs of a few candles burning low in their holders. The wooden doors to the stalls were flaking and scratched, one of them dangling off its hinges.

Putting her fingers to her lips, Hermione moved to the stall at the very end. When she reached it, she asked, "Hello, Myrtle, how are you?"

The Harry and Rose being, along with Ron, went to look. Myrtle was floating above the tank of the toilet, picking a spot on her chin.

"This is a girls' bathroom. They're not girls." She eyed Ron and the Harry half suspiciously.

"No. I just wanted to show them how, er, nice it is in here." Hermione responded, waving vaguely at the mirror and damp floor.

"Ask if she saw anything." The Harry half mouthed at Hermione.

"What are you whispering?" Myrtle asked, staring at him.

"Nothing, I was mouthing." The Harry half replied. "We w..."

Myrtle cut him off, voice choked with sobs.

"I wish people would stop talking behind my back, I do have feelings, you know."

"Myrtle, no one wants to upset you." Hermione replied. "The Harry..."

"No one wants to upset me! That's a good one!" Myrtle howled. "My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!"

"We wanted to ask you if you've seen anything funny lately, because a cat was attacked right outside your front door on Halloween." Hermione quickly responded.

"Did you see anyone here that night?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Anyone suspicious?"

"I wasn't paying attention." Myrtle stated dramatically. "Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm, that I'm..."

"Already dead?" Ron added helpfully.

Myrtle gave a tragic sob, rose up, turned over in the air, then dove head first into the toilet, splashing water all over them. Though she couldn't be seen any longer, her sobs sounded as if they were coming from the U-bend. Ron stood with his mouth hanging open and the Harry and Rose being frowned. Hermione shrugged.

"Honestly, that was almost cheerful for Myrtle... Come on, let's go." Hermione said.

They left the bathroom, and as the Rose half closed the door, a loud voice made them all jump.

"RON!" Percy Weasley stated in a strict tone, looking completely shocked, his prefect badge gleaming. "That's a girls' bathroom! What were you..."

"Just having a look around." Ron stated, shrugging. "For clues, you know."

Percy swelled in a manner that reminded the Harry and Rose being of Mrs. Weasley when she was angry. Quickly, the Harry and Rose being started to make their way in another direction as Percy strode toward them, flapping his arms and trying to wave them on. Ron and Percy argued for a bit, Percy indicating Ginny was crying and taking five points from Gryffindor when Ron accused him of not caring about her. He then strode off with the back of his neck looking as red as Ron's ears, and they continued with no more information than they'd had before. 


	21. Chapter 21

A.N.  
It's been a while for updates, though I've been busy with work and am starting to run out of how to put down some of the ideas I've got. I have written up to chapter 26 and part of 27, so updates may be slow until I complete the story. Suggestions, ideas, and constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 21 Theories, planning, and the Rogue Bludger

Later on that day after the Harry and Rose being, Ron, and Hermione had gone to the second floor corridor to talk with Moaning Myrtle in her bathroom, the Harry and Rose being sat as far away from Percy as they could, joined by Ron and Hermione. As their two friends worked on their homework, the Harry and Rose being each read a different book. The Harry half was reading a book containing some defensive spells, some of them quite advanced. The Rose half read their charms book. As they read, they followed both lines of text at once, thinking about their charms homework and organizing the defensive spells in their mind that they were going to learn next. The Harry half glanced up as Ron's parchment caught on fire and the Rose half looked up also, a furious Ron slamming closed his copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2. Hermione shut her own copy to their surprise, and after marking the pages in their books, the Harry and Rose being did the same.

"Who can it be, though?" Hermione asked as if they were continuing a conversation they'd been having. "Who'd want to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-bourns out of Hogwarts?"

"Let's think. Who do we know who thinks Muggle-bourns are scum?" Ron asked with fake puzzlement, staring at Hermione, who looked back, seeming unconvinced.

"If you're talking about Malfoy..." Hermione began.

"Of course I am!" Ron responded as if it was obvious. "You know what he said, you'll be next, Mudbloods. You only have to look at his fowl red face to know it's him."

"Malfoy, the heir of Slytherin?" Hermione asked in a skeptical tone.

"His family certainly boasts enough about Slytherin." The Harry and Rose being began in a measured voice. "Although, think about this. No second year could have petrified the Rose half or Filch's cat. Malfoy is a second year. He was at the Halloween feast at the time the petrification occurred. Remember, he was coming with the rest of the students back from the great hall."

"It could still be possible." Ron responded. "I mean, look at how he talks, insulting Hermione, insulting both of us too, he hates Gryffindors..."

"Ron, you're thick." The Harry and Rose being interrupted calmly. "Listen, and think, use a little logic. The Rose half was originally a Black." The Harry and Rose being frowned. "It's not something I like, but it's a fact. Given that blood lines are somewhat important and people seem prejudice against others, and also given that there have been roomers about the Rose half joining the rest of the Black's in darkness, I did a little digging. Remember the article I read a year ago about me?"

"Yeah." Ron responded.

"In it was mentioned Sarah Black, the mother of the Rose half. I looked her up, her last name was originally O'Riley. She came from a family who, a few generations back, lived in Ireland." The Harry and Rose being stated.

Ron stared at them, then said, "Who are you, Hermione?"

"No, of course not." The Harry and Rose being responded, "Now, hush, listen. The point is this. Sarah Black is a pure blood. Sirius Black, is a pure blood." The Harry and Rose being sighed. "And on that subject, I'm not even sure anymore if Sirius is the trader the article claimed him to be."

"Oh, come on." Ron responded. "Everyone knows what he did." He lowered his voice. "He murdered twelve Muggles and the only thing they found of Pettigrew was a finger."

"Yes, a single finger when twelve Muggles were killed in an explosion, and I'm sure much larger pieces of them were found. Quite odd, don't you think?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"No, not really." Ron responded.

"Oh, the lack of logic in the wizarding world." The Harry and Rose being sighed. "I'll lay it all out for you, then. An explosion, boom. Pieces of street and other rubble flying everywhere, people blown apart. Sirius Black in tact. Peter Pettigrew presumed dead, a finger found on sight. Personally, after thinking about it for so long, I've had a year after all, I think that finger was left there to be found deliberately."

"That does make some sense." Hermione responded. "But why?"

"I don't know." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Maybe to make everyone think he was dead, perhaps he's still alive, I dunno. There's a lot of different explanations for that, but this isn't what we should worry about now, it can wait. The Chamber of Secrets, Slytherin's heir. Malfoy? No, I don't think so, the facts don't add up."

"What d'you mean the facts don't add up?" Ron asked.

"Ron, have you been listening?" Hermione asked severely. "The Harry and Rose being just explained why they didn't! And come on, you think it's possible that Malfoy of all people could know how to open the Chamber of Secrets when no one, not even the professors have been able to find it? Not even Professor Dumbledore found it."

"Maybe Malfoy's family has the key and passed it down, father to son, all these years." Ron replied.

"So who, then. Malfoy's father was here to carry out the work Draco Malfoy couldn't?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"It's possible." Ron responded.

"We have to be sure." The Harry and Rose being stated. "The only way to do that would be talking with Malfoy, but we can't do that because he'd be suspicious of us in the Slytherin common room. There's got to be some type of magic to disguise us somehow."

"There might be a way." Hermione said slowly. "We'd be breaking about fifty school rules, of course, and it's difficult and very, very dangerous."

"Care to tell us what it is?" Ron asked.

"We could use Polyjuice Potion." Hermione replied.

The Harry and Rose being snapped their fingers.

"Yes, that would work." They said.

"Care to clue me in?" Ron asked.

"Snape mentioned it a few weeks ago in class, Ron." Hermione responded. "It's used to transform you into somebody else. We could go in, talk to him, and leave without him even knowing we'd been there."

"This Polyjuice stuff sounds a bit dodgy to me. What if we were stuck looking like four of the Slytherins forever?" Ron asked with a frown.

"It wears off after a while." Hermione waved a hand impatiently. "But getting hold of the recipe will be very difficult. Snape said it was in a book called Moste Potente Potions and it's bound to be in the Restricted Section of the library."

"There might be an easier way to get it than that." The Harry and Rose being said, the Rose half getting up and moving quickly over to the door to their room.

"What d'you mean?" Ron asked as the Rose half entered the room and moved to the desk, pulling open the drawers where they stored their papers, quickly going through sheets of parchment.

"It won't be cheep, but I've got a catalogue somewhere for a potions shop. I could order it from them. It's the same place I got the family inheritance potion, what was it..." The Harry half trailed off.

The Rose half quickly studied parchments even as the Harry and Rose being struggled to remember. After a few moments, the Harry half snapped his fingers.

"Magia Familia Hereditatem." He stated.

"What?" The Harry half heard Ron ask with an open mouth.

"It's a simple inheritance potion to determine what family members you received your magic from." The Harry half heard Hermione respond in a knowledgeable tone. She then added eagerly, "What were your results?"

"Each other." The Harry half replied, then the Harry and Rose being grinned triumphantly. "Found it."

The Rose half hurried out and closed the door behind her, coming over with a stack of parchment, flipping through the pages as she walked over to the Harry half, sitting next to him again.

"Okay, here it is." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Polyjuice Potion, used to transform yourself into another human being for one hour, longer if continuously drunk. Do not use for animal transformations. One-hundred Galleons a vial. Place hair or other item from the individual you wish to transform into before use. Typically on backorder up to two months for brewing time."

"That's four-hundred Galleons." Ron said in awe.

The Harry and Rose being shifted uncomfortably and looked down, cheeks burning. It would barely make a dent in their vault. To someone like Ron who's mother scraped the corners of the vault for money, that was a fortune.

"We need a backup plan, and it wouldn't be fair of you to spend so much money on such a thing anyway." Hermione said strictly.

"Well, I have full confidence in your ability, perhaps our ability, to brew a potion correctly. And besides, I'm not entirely convinced it is Malfoy, four-hundred Galleons isn't worth it to me yet." The Rose half stood and moved back toward their room.

"Okay, so what, then?" Ron asked. "How do we do this?"

"Well, as I said before, Professor Snape said the recipe was in a book called Moste Potente Potions, which I'm sure is in the restricted section of the library." Hermione replied. "It won't be easy to brew."

"You're repeating yourself, Hermione. And we'd need a signed note from a teacher to get it." The Harry half said as the Rose half opened the door and moved to the open drawer.

"Right." The Harry half heard Hermione reply, saw her blush faintly as the Rose half dropped the parchments into the drawer.

"I think if we made it sound like we were just interested in the theory, we might stand a chance..." The Harry half heard Hermione add as the Rose half closed the drawer and walked back out of the room.

"Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that. They'd have to be really thick..." The Harry half heard Ron trail off, and as the Rose half exited the room and closed the door, she heard the end of his words.

"I can think of one teacher that might be willing to help us. Given a reasonable excuse, of course." The Harry half said as the Rose half came back over to them.

Together, the Harry and Rose being and Ron stated, "Professor Lockhart."

Privately, the Harry and Rose being thought that Professor Lockhart, for all his fame and claims, actually knew hardly anything about Defense Against the Dark Arts. Since the episode of the pixies practically tearing apart the classroom, he hadn't actually given them any practical lessons. In fact, the lessons he gave were simply reading and telling the stories about the adventures he'd been on, which, in the Harry and Rose being's opinion, had absolutely nothing to do with defense at all. They were glad to have begun studying defense on their own, and so far, had learned quite a few useful spells.

In Professor Lockhart's class, however, they were sometimes forced to help him with acting out some of the dramatic events in his story. It was the Harry half he called to help, and so far, he had played a simple Transylvanian villager which Lockhart had cured of a Babbling Curse, a yeti with a head cold, and a vampire who had been unable to eat anything except lettuce since Lockhart had dealt with him. The Harry and Rose being was irritated at this, but at their next Defense Against the Dark Art's class, they played along, having good reason to keep Professor Lockhart in a good mood. Again, the Harry half was brought to the front of the class, this time to play a werewolf. The Harry and Rose being were amused at that and privately thought it should have been the Rose half, then she could really show him some strength.

"Nice loud howl, Harry..." Professor Lockhart was saying, the Harry and Rose being playing along through the Harry half. "Exactly! And then, if you'll believe it, I pounced-like this... Slammed him to the floor, thus... With one hand, I managed to hold him down, with my other, I put my wand to his throat, I then screwed up my remaining strength and performed the immensely complex Homorphus Charm, he let out a piteous moan, go on, Harry, higher than that, good! The fur vanished, the fangs shrank, and he turned back into a man. Simple, yet effective, and another village will remember me forever as the hero who delivered them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks."

The bell rang and Professor Lockhart, along with his class, got to their feet.

"Homework, compose a poem about my defeat of the Wagga Wagga Werewolf! Signed copies of Magical Me to the author of the best one!" Professor Lockhart called.

The Harry and Rose being only did the homework assigned to them for a good grade. That was all Professor Lockhart's class was worth at this point, anyhow. The Harry half went to the back of the room where the Rose half, Ron, and Hermione were waiting. As he did so, the Rose half muttered, "Ready?"

"Wait until everyone's gone... All right." Hermione said nervously.

She approached Professor Lockhart's desk with a paper clutched tightly in her hand, the Harry and Rose being and Ron behind her.

"Er, Professor Lockhart?" Hermione stammered a bit as she spoke. "I wanted t-to get this book out of the library. Just for background reading." She held out the paper, her hand shaking a little. "But the thing is, it's in the Restricted Section of the library, so I need a teacher to sign for it, I'm sure it would help me understand what you say in Gadding with Ghouls about slow-acting venoms..."

"Ah, Gadding with Ghouls!" Professor Lockhart said with a beaming smile as he took the paper from her. "Possibly my very favorite book. You enjoyed it?"

"Oh, yes, so clever, the way you trapped that last one with the tea-strainer." Hermione said eagerly.

"Well, I'm sure no one will mind me giving the best student of the year a little extra help." Professor Lockhart said warmly, then pulled out a large peacock quill. Ron looked revolted and Professor Lockhart misread his look. "Yes, nice, isn't it? I usually save it for book-signings."

He wrote an enormous signature in loopy writing before handing the note back to Hermione, who folded it with fumbling fingers and slipped it in her bag. As she did this, Professor Lockhart spoke.

"So, Harry, tomorrow's the first Quidditch match of the season, I believe? Gryffindor against Slytherin, is it not? I hear you're a useful player. I was a Seeker, too. I was asked to try for the National Squad, but preferred to dedicate my life to the eradication of the Dark Forces. Still, if ever you feel the need for a little private training, don't hesitate to ask. Always happy to pass on my expertise to less able players..."

The Harry half made a little grunting sound in his throat and hurried with the Rose half after Ron and Hermione.

"I don't believe it." The Harry and Rose being said with a frown as the four of them looked at the signature on the note a few moments later. "Well, I do, I suppose. He didn't even look at the book we wanted."

"That's because he's a brainless git, but who cares. We've got what we needed." Ron responded.

"He is not a brainless git!" Hermione said in a shrill voice as they hurried toward the library, almost running.

"Just because he said you were the best student of the year..." Ron began, then dropped their voices as they entered the quiet library.

Madam Pince, the librarian, was thin and irritable, looking like an underfed vulture. The Harry and Rose being watched as she tried to take the note from Hermione, who wasn't letting go.

"Moste Potente Potions?" She repeated in a suspicions tone after Hermione had explained what book they needed.

"I was wondering if I could keep it." Hermione said in a breathless tone, referring to the note she held.

Unbelievable, the Harry and Rose being thought. Even after Professor Lockhart's performance, Hermione was still in awe of him like a girl with a crush. Well, perhaps she was a girl with a crush. How silly. At the same time, they thought about the spell they were going to practice that night, the disarming spell, and were also learning ahead to something known as the shield charm, though wondered if it would work with their wands given that Ollivander had told them the effect their wands would have on each other. Perhaps they'd have to practice against someone other than their other halves, they thought idly.

"Oh, come on." Ron wrenched the note from her grasp, thrusting it at Madam Pince. "We'll get you another autograph. Lockhart will sign anything if it stands still long enough."

They watched intently as Madam Pince held the note up to the light, turning it this way and that as if determined to find something wrong with the signature. It passed her test, though, and she stocked off, returning some minutes later with a large and moldy looking book. Hermione carefully put it into her bag and they left, trying not to walk too quickly or look guilty. The Harry and Rose being were good at that given their practice at hiding emotion, casually strolling along as if it was any other day.

Five minutes later found them in Moaning Myrtle's out of order bathroom. Ron had objected, but Hermione overrode him and explained, once again, that this was the last place they'd be expected to be, let alone doing something that violated school rules.

"And," The Harry and Rose being added. "given that it's out of order along with Myrtle crying, no one is likely to come in here and bother us."

Indeed, Moaning Myrtle was living up to her name, though they were ignoring her as she ignored them. Hermione carefully opened Moste Potente Potions and the Rose half leaned over to look along with Ron, while the Harry half stood back from the group, staring at the dull ceiling of Myrtle's bathroom.

The pages had damp spots, and from reading through it, it was clear why the book belonged in the restricted section. Some of the potions had rather gruesome effects with illustrations to match. There was a man who seemed to have been turned inside out, a woman with several arms sprouting out of her head, and another man who looked as if all of his skin had been melted away.

"Here it is." Hermione said in an excited tone as she found the page entitled The Polyjuice Potion.

The drawings were of people partly through transforming into someone else, and from the look of them, it seemed they were in intense pain. The Harry and Rose being hoped the pain on their faces was imagined, but given the effects of the other potions they'd briefly glanced at, they thought it unlikely.

"This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen." Hermione muttered as she looked at the instructions. "Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass. Well, they're easy enough, they're in the student store-cupboard, we can help ourselves... Oooh, look, powdered horn of a bicorn, don't know where we're going to get that, shredded skin of a boomslang, that'll be tricky, too, and of course a bit of whoever we want to change into."

"Excuse me, what d'you mean, a bit of whoever we're changing into? I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails in it!" Ron exclaimed sharply.

"That goes in last." The Harry and Rose being stated. "Remember what I read from the catalogue before." Thoughtfully, the Harry and Rose being stared at the ingredients, then added, "Hermione, there's a lot of things on here we're going to have to steal. I doubt Shredded skin of a boomslang is in the student's potions cupboard. We'd probably have to break into Professor Snape's private stores for something like that, always assuming he has such a thing stocked. If he doesn't, we're in trouble. It'd probably be safer if I just bought it."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Hermione asked.

"Not really, but if we want to be sure Malfoy isn't behind anything, it's our best bet, unless you know of any other way to transform us into some Slytherins." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"No, I don't." Hermione said with a sigh. "Harry and Rose being, are you really sure about this?"

"Hermione, to be honest, I'd rather scrap the entire thing. I'm not convinced Malfoy's behind it, and even if we go through this and find out that he is later on..." The Harry and Rose being trailed off. Hermione shut the book with a snap, her cheeks pinker than usual and her eyes bright with a bit of anger.

"Fine." She snapped. "If you three are going to chicken out..." She looked at Ron, who looked as if he was agreeing more with the Harry and Rose being. "I don't want to break rules, you know. I think threatening Muggle-bourns is far worse than brewing up or purchasing a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, I'll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in..."

"I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be persuading us to break rules. All right, we'll do it. But not toenails, okay?" Ron said.

"How long would it take to brew?" The Harry and Rose being asked a happier looking Hermione.

"Well, since the fluxweed has got to be picked at the full moon and the lacewings have got to be stewed for twenty-one days ... I'd say it'd be ready in about a month, if we can get all the ingredients." Hermione replied.

"That's a big if." The Harry and Rose being said, and at Hermione's furious glance, added quickly, "I'll just get it, okay? Besides, it's just a little money."

"And what if it takes longer than a month?" Hermione asked.

"I'll write them and ask." The Harry and Rose being responded as they started walking from Myrtle's bathroom. "If it's longer than a month, we'll brew it. Okay?"

"Okay." Hermione responded. "Let me know, will you?"

"Of course." The Harry and Rose being said.

"You know, it'd be a lot quicker if you could just knock Malfoy off his broom tomorrow, Harry half." Ron said and the Harry and Rose being felt a delight at him using what they considered a proper form of address, as it wasn't something he did often.

"Well, Ron, I'll see what I can do about that." The Harry and Rose being responded with a grin.

November 7, 1992.

The Harry and Rose being woke early that Saturday morning, and as usual, found them self embracing. Carefully, the Harry half reached up and ran his hands through the Rose half's hair as they rolled over so she lay on top of him. They sighed and relaxed, thinking about the Quidditch match that they would be participating in shortly. They didn't know what Wood would say to them if they lost, and given that the Slytherins were on the fastest brooms money could buy, Gryffindor losing was likely. They wanted to beat Slytherin more than ever despite that, though, but weren't sure how yet.

To ward off some nervousness and experiment with the new level of their being a bit, the Harry and Rose being clasped their faces in the other half's hands and gently kissed, feeling the familiar thrill of pleasure. They faintly saw a golden light even as they felt their bond deepening even further, becoming even more rooted, they becoming more the single being they were naturally meant to be. Their thoughts and feelings were even closer if it was possible, their mind working a little faster than it had before.

The Harry and Rose being panted and noticed both halves of them looked a little flushed, heart pounding. They realized they were enjoying things a bit too much, perhaps, remaining still and rolling to their sides, hugging and allowing their pounding heart to calm, their breathing slowing. After a few minutes, they climbed from the bed and gazed at one another as they started to dress, noticing through the Harry half how beautiful the Rose half looked, and through the Rose half, noticing how attractive the Harry half was appearing. That was as it should be, the Harry and Rose being thought, though realized they'd probably do well to put some type of precautions in place against the inevitable attraction that would, no doubt, deepen as time passed.

Deciding to set that aside for the moment, the Harry and Rose being gazed out the window at the grounds and the dark sky. It was early enough that, under most circumstances, the son would have already risen. It looked to be a cloudy day out. They pondered for a moment on the anger that usually drew stronger around this time, though they had been rather occupied lately, and hadn't been provoked. They could feel the rage waiting for its opportunity to break free, though, and put it from their mind for now, focusing on the upcoming Quidditch match instead.

Turning from the window, the Harry and Rose being moved to the door and exited their room, heading out of the Gryffindor common room and to the great hall. There, they found the rest of the Gryffindor team huddled at the long table, which was empty. The Harry and Rose being sat down and gazed at their uptight faces, feeling nervous about the upcoming Quidditch match them self.

As eleven o'clock approached, everyone began making their way down to the Quidditch stadium. Ron and Hermione walked with the Rose half as the Harry half went to the locker rooms, saying, "Make sure the Harry half does well, Rose half."

"I'll do my best." The Rose half responded as they clambered into the stands and found a good seat to view the match.

As they did this, the Harry and Rose being noted the muggy air outside and the hint of a thunder shower in the air. The Harry half changed with his team as the Rose half peered around the stands, then indicated a good spot where they could sit and watch the match from. The Harry and Rose being both sat down afterward, the Rose half in the stands, the Harry half having finished changing and sitting in the locker room. The Rose half heard the rumble of the crowd as they talked among themselves and the Harry half listened to Wood's usual speech before the match.

"Slytherin has better brooms than us. No point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers, and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team." Wood's chest heaved with emotion and he turned to the Harry half as the Harry and Rose being heard George Weasley muttering about having not been dry since August. Wood continued. "It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."

"So no pressure, Harry." Fred winked at the Harry half, the Harry and Rose being feeling nervous, but also determined.

As they walked on to the pitch, a roar of mainly cheers greeted them. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were anxious to see Slytherin beaten as well, but the Slytherins booing and hissing could also be heard in the crowd through both the Harry and Rose halves. The Rose half focused on the Harry half and watched intently as the two teams met in the middle of the field. Madam Hooch, the flight instructor, had Flint and Wood shake hands. They did so, and as usual, they gave each other threatening stares and gripped harder than they needed to.

"On my whistle." Madam Hooch said and the Harry half mounted his broom, the Harry and Rose being's heart pounding with excitement. "Three, two, one."

They shot up into the air and the Harry and Rose being immediately began looking in two different directions, the Harry half flying on his broom, the Rose half in the stadium. Hermione noticed and gave the Rose half's arm a hit.

"No cheating!" She shouted. At the same moment, Malfoy sped underneath the Harry half and shouted, "All right there, scar head?"

The Harry half had no time to reply as a Bludger came pelting in his direction. He barely avoided it, his hair ruffling as it passed and the Rose half called, "I'm not cheating, how do you cheat when you're one person Hermione?"

"Close one, Harry!" The Harry half heard George say as he came zooming past, and at the same moment, the Rose half heard Hermione reply, "The Harry half is playing not you, so don't make it easier for him!"

The Harry half had seen Fred and George hit the Bludger toward Adrian Pucey, but in mid air, it changed direction and came heading straight back toward him. Immediately, the Rose half turned to look at him and shouted, "That's it! Something's wrong with that Bludger, I won't sit and not look!"

"What d'you mean something's wrong with it!" The Rose half heard Hermione shout over the sound of the crowd as the Harry half dropped to avoid it, looking also.

"Watch!" The Rose half shouted back as George hit it hard toward Malfoy. As directed by the Rose half, Hermione watched along with her and the Harry half as the Bludger came streaking back toward him and the Harry half zoomed toward the other end of the pitch, wind whistling in his hair.

"That's not right! What's that about!" The Rose half heard Hermione shout as she watched him and gazed around, seeing the Bludger streaking along behind him as the Harry half also tried to look for the Snitch at the same moment.

"I dunno!" The Rose half replied as Fred Weasley waited for the Bludger at the other end of the pitch.

The Harry half ducked as Fred swung his beaters bat at the Bludger with all his might, knocking it off course. Fred shouted, "Gotcha!" But once again, it came speeding back toward the Harry half who was forced to fly off at full speed, the Rose half intently gazing all around him to try and see the Snitch. The Harry and Rose being thought it wise to try and catch it as quickly as possible, since the Bludger didn't seem to be leaving the Harry half alone, as if he was a magnet for it. The weather was also picking up, starting to rain, heavy drops splattering on to the Harry half's glasses. The seating area was shielded from the rain, though, so the crowd didn't get wet.

The Harry and Rose being were only able to see around them because of the Rose half, as Fred and George Weasley were flying so close to the Harry half that all he could see was their flailing arms as they tried to keep the Bludger from attacking the Harry half, as it continued to pelt in his direction again and again. Meanwhile, the Slytherins brooms were doing their job, their team looking like little more than green blurs on the field as they scored goal after goal. The Harry half flew and swerved in various directions as Fred and George Weasley struggled to keep the Bludger off his tail.

"Someone's tampered with this Bludger!" The Harry half heard Fred grunt as he swung at it with all his might.

"We need time out!" The Harry half heard George call, trying to both signal Wood and prevent the Bludger from breaking the Harry half's nose at the same time. Wood, who had obviously gotten the message, dove to the ground as Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Fred, George and the Harry half followed, he still trying to avoid the mad Bludger as the Rose half gazed intently all around him. The team gathered in a huddle and the Rose half could see the Bludger circling.

Pulling out his wand, the Harry half tapped his glasses and stated, "Impervius." The charm was designed to repel water and immediately, the Harry half's glasses cleared. As he heard Wood starting to speak, he quietly tapped his face and eyes under and around his glasses, stating the charm again, wanting as much protection as he could get from the rain. Given Wood's practice schedules and the terrible weather they'd flown in, the Harry and Rose being were glad they'd taken the initiative to research charms to protect them against the weather.

"What's going on?" The Harry half heard Wood say as Slytherins in the crowd jeered. "We're being flattened. Fred, George, where were you when that Bludger stopped Angelina scoring?"

"We were twenty feet above her, stopping the other Bludger from murdering Harry, Oliver." The Harry half heard George say angrily as the Rose half continued to watch the Harry half and the Bludger, which was concealed in wait. The Harry half heard George continue as the Rose half heard many Gryffindors in the crowd pointing and shouting to each other, speculating about the Bludger.

"I hope the Harry half is going to be okay, they should stop the match until they can figure out what's happening!" The Rose half heard Hermione shout as the Harry half heard George continue.

"Someone's fixed it, it won't leave Harry alone. It hasn't gone for anyone else all game. The Slytherins must have done something to it."

"But the Bludgers have been locked in Madam Hooch's office since our last practice, and there was nothing wrong with them then..." The Harry half heard Wood say in an anxious tone as the Harry and Rose being spotted Madam Hooch walking toward the Gryffindor team, and over her shoulder, the Slytherin team jeering and pointing in his direction.

"Listen." The Harry half stated as the Harry and Rose being came to their decision. "With you two flying around me, the only way I'll even see the Snitch effectively is because I've got the Rose half to back me up, and I won't catch it with your arms flailing all around as you try to protect me."

At the same time, the Rose half said to Ron and Hermione, "The Harry half's trying to convince the team to leave him be to deal with the Bludger, he won't catch the Snitch with Fred and George trying to protect him!"

"Are you insane!" The Rose half heard Hermione shriek as the Harry half continued, saying, "Fred, George, go back to the rest of the game I'll deal with the rogue one."

"It'll take your head off!" The Harry half heard Fred say indignantly.

"No, I'm not crazy!" The Rose half responded. "Look, with me watching the Harry half can anticipate and avoid things, okay? I'll be fine!"

The Harry half saw Wood looking from him to the Weasley's, Alicia Spinnet interjecting angrily.

"Oliver, this is insane! You can't let Harry deal with that thing on his own. Let's ask for an inquiry..."

"Well Hermione, Alicia Spinnet agrees with you!" The Rose half called as the Harry half said, "If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit the match!" The Rose half then stated, "But if we stop the match, we'll lose to Slytherin and I really don't want to do that!" The Harry half was saying at the same time, "I don't want to lose to Slytherin because of the Bludger I can deal with!"

"You are crazy!" The Rose half heard Hermione shout.

The Harry half was continuing to speak. "Tell them to leave me be, Oliver!"

"This is all your fault!" The Harry half heard George say angrily.

The Rose half said, "Not crazy, just determined!"

The Harry half heard George continue, saying, "Get the Snitch or die trying, what a stupid thing to tell him!"

The Rose half heard Hermione shout, "There's determined and there's crazy! You're insane!"

"No, Hermione, not when I know I can deal with this!" The Rose half shouted back.

Madam Hooch had joined the team at that same moment and the Harry half heard her ask Wood, "Ready to resume play?"

"You're just like Ron, obsessed, the both of you!" The Rose half heard Hermione say, looking at the determined look on the Rose half's face even as Wood saw the determined one mirrored on the Harry half.

"All right. Fred, George, you heard Harry, let him deal with the Bludger on his own." The Harry half heard Wood say and the Rose half clapped.

"Here goes!" She shouted.

The rain was falling even more heavily now, but thanks to the Impervius charm, the Harry half could see much more clearly now than he could before. As he kicked off the ground and flew into the air, he heard the Bludger whistling behind him and the Rose half saw it streaking after him even as the Harry and Rose being stared around for the Snitch, searching the pitch.

The Harry half flew higher and higher, looping and rolling, flipping and diving in various directions, the Harry and Rose being knowing the Bludger couldn't change direction as quickly as he could. The Harry and Rose being were getting a little dizzy from all the change in direction, but the Rose half was firmly on the ground which helped with that, and she wasn't dizzy since she wasn't flipping and performing daring moves on a broom along with him. That also helped, so the Harry half was more stable than they imagined he'd be otherwise. As the Harry half hung upside down with rain running up his nostrils, the Harry and Rose being heard the crowd roaring with laughter, though Ron and Hermione were anxiously watching the Harry half and his maneuvers. The Harry and Rose being didn't care how silly the Harry half looked, only cared about avoiding the Bludger.

The Harry half started to swerve and dive and loop around the edges of the stadium to search for the Snitch as the Rose half looked up, down, and all around the Harry half, constantly watching for the Bludger. While she did that, the Harry half flew and swerved, avoiding and looping, watching Adrian Pucey trying to get past Wood to score a goal. The Harry half swerved in a direction as the Rose half saw the Bludger heading for him again, it barely missing his ear. The Harry half rolled over and sped in the opposite direction, performing a twirl in the air to avoid it and looking rather stupid. Malfoy, having spotted him, shouted, "Training for the ballet, Potter?"

The Rose half kept her eyes on the Bludger sailing after the Harry half as he fled, then as the Harry half turned back to glare at Malfoy, he saw the snitch hovering inches above his left ear. Malfoy was too busy laughing at the Harry half and the Rose half looked at him also, the Snitch firmly in the Harry and Rose being's sight, the Harry half still as he didn't want Malfoy to look and see it.

Both things proved to be a mistake. The Bludger slammed into the Harry half at last and the Harry and Rose being felt his arm break. The Rose half flinched hard and the Harry half slid sideways on his broom, right arm dangling uselessly at his side. The Rose half looked around and saw the Bludger pelting back toward the Harry half's face and he swerved to get out of its way, then dove at Malfoy, who thought the Harry half was attacking him.

"What the..." The Harry half heard Malfoy call as he swerved out of his way and the Harry half wildly reached out with his left hand, snatching at the cold Snitch and holding it up for everyone to see, gripping the broom with only his legs.

The pain in the Harry half's arm was like the pain the Harry and Rose being felt during the Rose half's monthly transformations on the full moon, and as the Harry half headed straight for the ground, the Rose half desperately climbed down to the field, the crowd shouting as they saw the Harry half heading straight down. The Rose half was trembling from the pain and some tears rolled down her face as she gasped, then she and the Harry half grunted in pain as the Harry half slammed into the mud with a splat, his arm hanging at a strange and awkward angle. The crowd was cheering and shouting as the Rose half, finally having reached the field, broke into a sprint, splashing mud and rain over her robes as she ran toward the Harry half, the Harry and Rose being feeling the snitch fluttering in his hand. The Gryffindor team was landing and, along with some other Gryffindors, hurrying over to him, everyone gathering around the Harry half, who stared up at them with pain filled eyes.

"Stand back, stand back!" A voice shouted. "Coming through!" The Harry and Rose being groaned. They had won the Quidditch match, but Professor Lockhart coming could only mean one thing. Bad news. The Rose half knelt next to the Harry half as he made his way quickly over to him, who stared up at Professor Lockhart leaning over him, the Harry and Rose being spotting his gleaming smile.

"Not you." The Harry half groaned.

"Doesn't know what he's saying!" Professor Lockhart said to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors and the Rose half. "Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm."

"No, I'll keep it like this, thanks." The Harry half said as the Rose half tried to help him sit up, but stopped with a grunt, the pain terrible. Hearing a familiar clicking near bye, the Harry and Rose being said loudly, "No photos, Colin!"

"Not to worry, Harry." Professor Lockhart said in a soothing voice. "It's a simple charm I've used countless times."

"I'll just go to the hospital wing, thanks." The Harry half said as the Rose half seized his left hand firmly and started to pull him up, the Harry and Rose being gasping and clenching their teeth.

"He should really, Professor." Wood said, grinning even though Harry was injured. "Great capture, Harry, really spectacular, your best yet, I'd say."

"Just relax, Rose." Professor Lockhart said as he rolled up his sleeves. "And stand back.

"No, don..." The Harry and Rose being began as she let the Harry half go, who hit the ground with a thud, pain shooting up his right arm. The Rose half staggered from the pain, blinking tears from her eyes and stumbling back a little.

Professor Lockhart was twirling his wand, however, and pointed it at the Harry half's arm moments later. The Rose half stared as a strange sensation began at the Harry half's shoulder, watching as his arm began to collapse and fold in on itself. Even as this happened, the pain was leaving and the crowd was gasping, Colin taking picture after picture. The Harry half's arm didn't look or feel anything remotely like an arm anymore and the Harry and Rose being stared at it in a horrified type of fascination. It looked more like a flesh colored glove than anything. The Harry half tried to move his fingers without success.

"Ah, yes. Well... That can sometimes happen." Professor Lockhart responded grimly. "But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Harry, just toddle up to the hospital wing, ah, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you escort him? And Madam Pomfrey will be able to, er, tidy you up a bit."

"No longer broken?" The Rose half said furiously as she firmly grasped the Harry half's hand and hauled him up, feeling as if things were strangely lopsided in his body. "You removed them!"

"An honest mistake, I assure you." Professor Lockhart said with a bit of a smile.

"Honest mistake." The Harry and Rose being grumbled angrily as the Rose half pulled the Harry half along, storming through the Quidditch field toward the front doors of the castle. "Why I'd like to really see how much you know. Honest mistake, sure."

"I'm sure it was." Hermione said.

"So you still think he's a lovely famous wizard, do you, Hermione?" The Rose half shot back angrily. "I don't! You're little crush is something I'd expect from a silly little girl, not from practical Hermione! Professor Lockhart knows nothing, face it!"

The anger they normally felt around this time due to the approaching full moon, which had faded to almost non-existence from the thrill and determination of the Quidditch match, was back in full force. Hot rage filled the Harry and Rose being as they stormed through the grounds, noticing but not caring about Hermione's offended look.

"No one's perfect, you have to realize that!" Hermione said indignantly.

"I should have stopped him, I really should have!" The Harry and Rose being shouted furiously. "This is not my day, I'm really quite sick of this!" Gripping hands with great force and trembling with fury, the Harry and Rose being stocked toward the hospital wing, feeling nothing but fury toward Professor Lockhart. 


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Dobby Returns and the Second Attack

The Harry and Rose being struggled to calm them self as they stormed toward the hospital wing. It was difficult, as their feral rage was powerful and currently directed at Professor Lockhart. The Harry half's right arm, which had no bones in it, was a constant reminder of what had happened. As they entered, the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, looked over at them.

"Professor Lockhart decided to perform a little bone removal." The Harry and Rose being stated in cool fury. Madam Pomfrey hurried over and looked at the Harry half's right arm, then held it up, not pleased in the slightest.

"You should have come straight to me, not Professor Lockhart!" Madam Pomfrey said angrily.

"I didn't want him to do what he did, but that's what happened." The Harry and Rose being replied, trying to calm down, though failing at the moment.

Ron and Hermione, who had been walking behind the Harry and Rose being, looked on desperately.

"I can mend bones in a second, but growing them back..." Madam Pomfrey began.

"I assume you can." The Harry and Rose being stated.

"Yes, of course." Madam Pomfrey stated grimly in reply. "But it'll be painful." She handed the Harry half a pair of pajamas and looked assessingly at the Rose half before doing the same. "I suppose given your situation, both of you will have to stay the night."

The Harry and Rose being stepped behind a curtained off bed and the Rose half carefully, but quickly helped the Harry half to dress before doing the same. As they did so, they heard Ron and Hermione talking.

"How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione, eh? If Harry had wanted deboning he would have asked." Ron was saying to Hermione.

"Anyone can make a mistake, and it doesn't hurt anymore, does it, Harry and Rose being?" Hermione asked in reply.

"No, and doesn't do anything else either." The Harry and Rose being snapped. "Honestly, Hermione, anyone can make a mistake? Professor Lockhart doesn't know a thing."

Angrily, the Rose half yanked open the curtain to the bed, the Harry half laying down and getting as comfortable as he could. The Rose half saw Ron, Hermione, and Madam Pomfrey, who was holding a large bottle of Skele-Gro. They all moved toward the bed the Harry half was in, the Rose half standing next to him.

"You're in for a rough night." Madam Pomfrey stated as she poured some of the potion into a beaker. "Re growing bones is a nasty business."

She handed it to the Harry half, who gulped it down quickly, coughing and spluttering as it burned his throat. The Rose half sighed and muttered, "It's all Professor Lockhart's fault."

"How can you call him a professor after that?" Ron asked.

"Because that's what he is, Ron, and as such he still deserves that much respect. But right now I'm really starting to question that." The Rose half stated coolly.

Madam Pomfrey muttered about dangerous sports and inept teachers as she moved off, the Rose half pouring the Harry half a glass of water and handing it to him. As he gulped it down, Ron said, "At least we won. Some catch you made, Harry. Malfoy's face... He looked ready to kill..."

"I want to know how he fixed that Bludger." Hermione stated darkly.

"We'll add that to the list of questions we'll take when we've got the Polyjuice Potion. Which, by the way, I still need to write about." The Harry and Rose being responded, calming a little. "I hope it tastes better than the Skele-Gro."

"If it's got bits of Slytherins in it? You've got to be joking." Ron said.

At that moment, the door to the hospital wing burst open to reveal the Gryffindor Quidditch team, still soaking wet and muddy. As they entered carrying cakes, sweets, and pumpkin juice, George spoke, the team grinning.

"Unbelievable flying, Harry! I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy."

"I bet not." The Harry and Rose being said as the team gathered around, the Rose half sitting next to the Harry half in a chair.

"So, Harry, how's the arm?" Fred asked.

"It's fine." The Harry half responded. "I'm looking forward to some of that, though."

"And service we shall provide." Katie Bell stated with a grin.

Before they could even get started, however, Madam Pomfrey came over and interrupted them, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to re grow! All of you accept Rose, out! OUT!"

Everyone left and the Rose half sighed, climbing into the bed with the Harry half and taking his left hand in her right. The Harry and Rose being relaxed at the touch, aware of the stabbing pains in the Harry half's arm but unable to do much to distract them self from it, as they needed rest. After what felt like hours, the Harry and Rose being drifted off to sleep.

When the Harry and Rose being next woke, it was pitch black so they guessed it was some time in the middle of the night. The Harry half's arm felt as if large splinters were stabbing throughout it and they winced in pain. They then became aware of someone using a sponge on the Harry half's forehead and the Rose half stared at Dobby, a tear running down his long, pointed nose.

"Dobby. What are you doing?" The Harry and Rose being hissed quietly.

"Harry and Rose Potter came back to school." Dobby whispered in a miserable voice. "Dobby warned and warned Harry and Rose Potter. Ah sir and ma'am, why didn't you heed Dobby? Why didn't Harry and Rose Potter go back home when they missed the train?"

The Rose half sat up and pushed Dobby's sponge away from the Harry half, the Harry and Rose being feeling their hot rage again. With a snarl, the Harry and Rose being stated coldly, "You stopped us from getting through the barrier."

"Harry and Rose Potter must be kept safe." Dobby responded, his lower lip trembling. "Never did Dobby dream that Harry and Rose Potter would get to school another way."

"Then you are stupid." The Harry and Rose being whispered in deep fury, then the Rose half grabbed Dobby by the shoulders and shook him. "What else did you do, Dobby? Try and kill me with that Bludger, maybe? Or perhaps you petrified the Rose half, did you? Tell me."

"No, sir and ma'am, Dobby would never petrify either of you, sir and ma'am." Dobby said, blowing his nose on a corner of the pillow case he wore. "And Dobby would never kill you, sir and ma'am, his Bludger was only meant to..."

"Yes, you're all about not letting us stay here." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly. "And for what, Dobby? Does the petrifications have anything to do with it? Is that what you're protecting me from?"

"You must go home, sir and ma'am, you must not stay here! History is repeating itself sir and ma'am, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again!"

Dobby froze, eyes widening in horror. As he made to reach for the water jug, the Rose half yanked him back and glared into his eyes.

"Don't." She stated, and instead, Dobby simply grabbed his ears and twisted them quite hard.

"Bad Dobby, very bad Dobby." He muttered.

The Rose half stared at Dobby wearing his pathetic pillow case, and letting go of his ears that he'd twisted, which had to be quite painful. Despite them self, the Harry and Rose being's anger faded a little.

"Dobby, why do you wear that pillow case?" The Harry and Rose being asked, their voices calmer.

"'Tis a mark of the house-elf's enslavement, sir and ma'am. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothes, sir and ma'am. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir and ma'am, for then he would be free to leave their house forever." Dobby responded sadly.

"I see." The Harry and Rose being stated. "Well I don't feel very sorry for you right now. I don't appreciate you blocking me from the barrier or sending a Bludger after me. These attempts to save my life are getting out of hand. Stop."

"Dobby must save you, sir and ma'am!" He stated with a determination the Harry and Rose being found irritating. "If only you knew what you mean to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, we dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers, sir and ma'am! We house-elfs were treated like vermin, sir and ma'am! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir and ma'am. But mostly, sir and ma'am, life has improved for my kind since Harry Potter triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir and ma'am, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end, sir and ma'am..."

"Yeah, well, I didn't do anything. I was a baby, fifteen months old and I was probably laying in a crib, either sleeping or awake and crying. So I did nothing, and they all think I'm some hero." The Harry and Rose being stated with disgust. "Just because the Harry half blocked the killing curse, and they disregard the Rose half completely, guess she didn't do anything. But oh no, here she is again, a member of a family once dark, the Black's who supported Voldemort..." Dobby gasped and shuttered.

"Speak not the name, sir and ma'am!" Dobby said.

"Oh, please." The Harry and Rose being responded coldly. "He isn't coming. You had better leave, Dobby, because if you don't, I'm going to kill you, I swear." Of course, the Harry and Rose being would never do such a thing, but in their anger, they thought it might scare Dobby.

Dobby smiled weakly and said, "Dobby is used to death threats, sir and ma'am. Dobby gets them five times a day at home."

"I want to know who opened the Chamber of Secrets before, Dobby." The Harry and Rose being stated, the Rose half moving her hands to grasp Dobby's bony wrists. "And I want to know now."

"Dobby can't, sir and ma'am, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell!" He squealed. "Go home, Harry and Rose Potter, go home!"

"No." The Harry and Rose being stated in a furious, cold rage. "I will stay and protect my friends against this threat. I will not leave and you can't make me, no matter what you do. So don't even bother tr..."

The Harry and Rose being stopped talking as they heard footsteps approaching through the Rose half. Dobby heard them as well, his ears quivering as he froze.

"Dobby must go!" He whispered, then vanished with a sharp crack, the Rose half's fists clenching shut on thin air. Furious, the Rose half lay back down and the Harry and Rose being feigned sleep, listening intently and watching the door.

It didn't take long for them to see movement. Professor Dumbledore was backing into the wing wearing a long woolly dressing gown and a nightcap, carrying one end of a statue. Professor McGonagall appeared soon after carrying its feet. Together, they put it on a bed and Professor Dumbledore whispered, "Get Madam Pomfrey."

Professor McGonagall hurried off and the Harry and Rose being lay still, gripping hands and pretending to sleep. Moments later, the Rose half faintly heard Professor McGonagall say, "Madam Pomfrey, we need you in the hospital wing." Her voice sounded urgent.

"What's happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Quickly, Madam Pomfrey." Professor McGonagall responded, then returned followed closely by Madam Pomfrey, who was pulling a cardigan on over her nightdress. She gasped.

"What happened?" She whispered to Professor Dumbledore, bending over the statue on the bed.

"Another attack." Professor Dumbledore responded. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him. We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter." Professor McGonagall stated.

The Rose half rose her head and sat up slightly, staring at Colin Creevey, a ray of moonlight putting his face into view. The Harry and Rose being felt terrible, remembering their own experience being petrified. Colin was only one body, though, so it wasn't likely he would experience what they had. The Rose half lowered herself carefully and quietly back to the bed and the Harry and Rose being realized how stupid it had been of him to try and see them, especially given that the Rose half and Mrs. Noris had already been petrified before. They also felt a deep sorrow, but also a determination to find this attacker, whoever they were, and stop them.

"Petrified?" Madam Pomfrey whispered.

"Yes." Professor McGonagall replied. "But I shudder to think ... If Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate-who knows what might have..." She trailed off.

The three of them were staring down at Colin for a moment before Professor Dumbledore leaned forward, wrenching the camera out of his rigid grasp.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" Professor McGonagall asked eagerly.

Professor Dumbledore said nothing, only opened the back of the camera. A jet of steam hissed out and the Rose half smelled the scent of burnt plastic before the Harry half did.

"Good gracious!" Madam Pomfrey said, startled, then added in a tone of wonder, "Melted."

"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall urgently asked.

"It means, that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again." Professor Dumbledore responded gravely.

Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth. Professor McGonagall stared at Professor Dumbledore, then said, "But, Albus... surely... Who?"

"The question is not who. The question is, how..." Professor Dumbledore responded, eyes on Colin.

The Harry and Rose being agreed with that assessment, but it seemed Professor McGonagall didn't understand the reason behind the question Professor Dumbledore had put before them. The Harry and Rose being thought both questions were valid, though. Who was important, since they could possibly put a stop to it if they knew who was opening the Chamber of Secrets. How was also important, the Harry and Rose being remembering the slithering sound and the reflection of a flash of yellow eyes in the flooded corridor. They gripped hands tighter as their heart pounded a little harder, remembering all the sensation that went with the memory. As they thought and remembered, the Professors left the hospital wing in various directions. Madam Pomfrey went back to what was presumably the place she slept after placing the curtain the Harry and Rose being had changed behind the previous night near Colin's bed, blocking it from view. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall left the room through the door they'd entered, and the Harry and Rose being lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about the questions. No answers came to them, only further pain to the Harry half's arm. Eventually, they drifted off to sleep again, dreaming of a slithering thing with wide yellow eyes, petrifying people as it moved and stared at them, its form and body in shadow.

The Harry and Rose being woke Sunday morning to sunlight entering the hospital wing along with the Harry half's properly looking, but stiff right arm. The Harry and Rose being sat up and the Harry half struggled to move his fingers a little, the Rose half touching the Harry half's arm carefully. Madam Pomfrey spotted them and hurried over with a breakfast tray before bending and stretching the Harry half's arm and fingers.

The Harry and Rose being ate bowls of porridge as Madam Pomfrey continued to manipulate the Harry half's right arm, and after a few moments, she said, "All in order. When you've finished eating, you may leave."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey." The Harry and Rose being replied.

When they finished, the Harry and Rose being left the hospital wing and separated. The Harry half went toward Gryffindor tower while the Rose half went to the Owlery to write the letter concerning the Polyjuice Potion. The Rose half stopped bye the library and borrowed a quill, an ink vial, and got a piece of parchment to use, composing a short letter while the Harry half made his way through the corridors, arriving at the portrait of the fat lady as the Rose half began her trek to the Owlery.

After stating the password, the Harry half climbed through the portrait hole and gazed around the dormitory. Ron and Hermione were sitting at a table and he made his way over, the Rose half strolling through some corridors and up staircases. Catching sight of the Harry half, Hermione said, "Harry half! How's your arm?"

"Doing well." He replied with a smile, noticing Hermione looking at him with a little confusion.

"Where's the Rose half?" She asked.

"Heading to the Owlery, I've written the letter about the Polyjuice Potion." The Harry half responded. "And regarding that, I've made my decision. If we can't get it in time, then I'll help you brew it. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall carried Colin into the hospital wing last night. He..."

Hermione interrupted, saying, "We already know, we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning." She stood along with Ron as she spoke and the Harry half joined them as they started to move toward the portrait hole. "We've decided that Moaning Myrtle's bathroom's the best place." Hermione continued in a quieter voice so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Right." The Harry half said as the Rose half stepped into the Owlery.

"Hedwig, you here?" The Rose half asked as the Harry half climbed through the portrait hole with Ron and Hermione.

A hooting caught the Harry and Rose being's attention and the Rose half saw Hedwig gliding down toward her. She smiled as Hedwig lightly landed on her shoulder.

"Here you are, girl." The Rose half said.

The Harry half heard Hermione say to he and Ron, "Let's continue our conversation about sensitive topics when we get there, okay? Or at least make sure we're not being heard."

The Rose half continued to speak at the same moment and said, "Wait for a reply if you can. And thanks." She stroked Hedwig's feathers after giving her the letter, which she clamped in her beak before taking off.

"Good idea." The Harry half responded to Hermione as the Rose half dealt with Hedwig.

"When will you know how long it's going to take?" The Harry half heard Hermione ask as the Rose half turned around and started walking from the Owlery to join them.

"Hopefully soon, I'd like to know today, but I'll take a week. Just in case, we ought to start brewing it now, though." The Harry half replied.

"Good." The Harry half heard Ron say as the Rose half rounded a corner, gazing at the portraits lining some of the walls and looking out one of the windows. "The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better."

"Ron, wait, okay?" Hermione said sharply, but quietly.

Ron looked down sheepishly and the Harry and Rose being felt a bit of excitement along with their hot fury. They would soon find out, within a month, about Malfoy's plots and plans, if he had any. Thinking about Malfoy reminded the Harry and Rose being about Dobby's visit.

"Last night, Dobby came to see me again." The Harry half said, deciding this was likely innocuous enough to talk about. "He told me he was the one that charmed the Bludger in yet another ridiculous attempt to save my life. He also stopped me from getting on the train." The Harry half sighed sharply. "I'm really getting tired of him trying to save me and I really hope he stops."

"I understand that." Hermione responded compassionately. "Was there anything else he said?"

"I'll tell you the rest in a bit." The Harry half said as they headed down the staircases, the Rose half seen by the Harry half a ways up, her long stride quick as she moved to join them. In turn, the Rose half saw the Harry half with Ron and Hermione below her.

The Harry half continued speaking. "One thing was that he spoke about how house-elfs are treated and how they're freed, and how great the Harry half, me, was for defeating Voldemort."

Ron and Hermione gasped and the Harry and Rose being felt a flair of hot rage.

"What?" The Harry half asked as the Rose half came up to them, she joining with the Harry half in speaking. "What is so frightening about that name? It's so ridiculous! And please, the Harry half defeating Voldemort? Come on, the lack of logic in the wizarding world continues to astonish me, and it's so very ridiculous I just want to..."

The Harry and Rose being growled in furious anger.

"Calm down, Harry and Rose being, okay?" Hermione said gently. "And if it's worth anything, I think you've given things a lot of thought."

"Well thanks for that." The Harry and Rose being replied, a little calmer now.

It wasn't much longer that the Harry and Rose being found them self in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom with Ron and Hermione. They proceeded to one of the stalls and Hermione conjured a water-proof fire under one of the toilets, putting a cauldron over it that she was carrying after putting some water inside.

"So, I guess we can talk freely now?" Ron asked.

"Yes, we shouldn't be found here. At least, this is the last place people would think to look for us." Hermione responded.

"Good." Ron said. "My thoughts on Malfoy, I really think he decided to take out his anger about the Quidditch match on Colin."

"And how did he know Colin was headed to the hospital wing?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

Ron looked stumped as Hermione opened a bag and started taking out some of the potions ingredients, placing them within the cauldron.

"Exactly." The Harry and Rose being stated coolly. "Now. The Chamber of Secrets, which Dobby told me had been opened before, and its monster. No one has seen it getting around. I think I heard it but I've got no idea why. What could it be, any ideas?"

"I'm not sure." Hermione responded. "It might not be seen because it can make itself invisible, or maybe it can disguise itself, pretend to be a suit of armor or something, I've read about Chameleon Ghouls..."

"You read too much, Hermione." Ron responded as he opened one of the bags of ingredients and Hermione started to shred what looked like knotgrass. As she did this, the Rose half grabbed one of the other ingredients and put it gently into the cauldron.

Ron turned to the Harry and Rose being, then stated, "You know, Harry and Rose, if Dobby doesn't stop trying to save your life, he's going to kill you."

"Precisely." The Harry and Rose being responded coolly. "That's one of the reasons I want him to stop his efforts. Useless and ultimately harmful to me. Maybe he's realizing that."

"Guess we'll find out, mate." Ron responded as they continued to work with the potion.

As it turned out, the Harry and Rose being did get a response to their letter within the day. It wasn't what they'd hoped. From what they found out, the potion would be ready for purchase after the holidays. They weren't too surprised about this, and after telling Ron and Hermione, they all agreed to continue brewing the potion, as Hermione's estimate of when it would be ready was sooner than the estimate they'd received from the potions store. The Harry and Rose being felt an urgency to verify information, to know for sure if Malfoy was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets or not. Ron seemed convinced of it and Hermione was walking the line between certainty and uncertainty. The Harry and Rose being made no conclusions on the matter accept what was obvious based on the available evidence. For the moment, that evidence disproved Malfoy as the culprit.

The news about Colin Creevey spread quickly through the school, and by Monday morning, everyone knew about it. Roomers flew and suspicion caused a fearful tension throughout the students in the school. The first years moved around the castle in groups, as if fearful of an attack if they ventured out on their own. Ginny Weasley, who sat next to Colin in charms, was quite distraught. As a result, Fred and George tried to cheer her up by covering themselves with fur or oil, jumping out at her from behind statues. The Harry and Rose being thought this an unwise means of cheering Ginny up, as did Percy Weasley, who shouted at Fred and George in a rage, telling them that if they didn't stop, he would write to Mrs. Weasley and tell her Ginny was having nightmares. After that, they stopped their attempts to cheer up Ginny in that manner.

Hidden from the teachers was a market of talismans, amulets, and other protective devices which the Harry and Rose being thought might be duds, though said nothing. Neville Longbottom ended up purchasing some of them, though was reminded by the other Gryffindors that, since he was a pure-blood, he wasn't likely to be in danger.

"They went for Filch first, and everyone knows I'm almost a Squib." Neville had said, his face terrified. He also gave the Rose half a glance, though before he said anything, she shook her head slightly.

In addition to roomer and speculation by the students, the Harry and Rose being endured hostile glares from the students who believed that, since the Rose half had once been petrified and cured, the Harry and Rose being should make an effort to do something. They made the attempt, but still weren't sure precisely how the Rose half had been healed by the Harry half. When their attempt ended in failure, the students simply scorned them and viciously stated that they obviously didn't try hard enough.

"Do you think I want this!" The Harry and Rose being shouted one evening in the Gryffindor common room, after several students had continued with their name calling and bullying. "If I could do something, I would! I have tried, I have failed! When will it be good enough for you people!"

Some of the Gryffindors looked rather contrite at that, and a large number of them left them alone after that. The only house who didn't do anything harmful to them were the Slytherins, though what they did could have been construed as more harmful in a way. When the Harry and Rose being would walk past, they'd cheer and shout, "Thanks for helping us rid the school of those Mudbloods, and showing how a pure-blood such as yourself can't be defeated by the monster!"

Of course, when referring to a pure-blood, they were talking about the Rose half. The Harry and Rose being were angry about what the Slytherins said, but tried their best to ignore them and say nothing in response.

December 10, 1992.

Being one day after the full moon, the Harry and Rose being were still angry and irritable. They tried not to show their feelings, though. Ron was still typically focused on Malfoy, suspicious that he was remaining over the holidays. Hermione was leaning more toward Ron's side now, but the Harry and Rose being thought about Malfoy and the evidence they had implicating him. At best, they still believed it was circumstantial. They silently raged at the lack of thinking Ron demonstrated, and now Hermione. Of course, they weren't surprised, as they felt that they were more mature than their friends at times, and thought more than they did, too. Of course, given that they were learning things ahead of their peers, that was understandable.

As the Potions class drew nearer, the Harry and Rose being brought up their misgivings to Hermione in regards to stealing the ingredients they needed.

"We'll probably get in a lot of trouble." They began, speaking briskly due to their powerful emotions. "We can't let him find out we're doing anything."

"What we need is a diversion." Hermione responded, her voice also brisk. "Then one of us can sneak into Snape's office and take what we need."

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Who?"

"I'll do it. I know exactly what the ingredients look like. Harry and Rose being, you'll be good at creating a diversion because of your ability to use two bodies in perfect coordination, and Ron, you'd be slower at getting the ingredients than me. I'm the logical choice." Hermione responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "All you need to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for five minutes or so."

"I can do that." The Harry and Rose being responded, calming and smiling a little. "Finally, someone using logic."

Professor Snape was his usual self in potions, though perhaps not entirely. As the Harry and Rose being had been researching, learning about, and writing essays on more advanced potions, Professor Snape had recently been allowing them to work together in class, which was why Hermione had spoken of them coordinating their diversion earlier. Though he now allowed this, he did so grudgingly and reluctantly, the Harry and Rose being suspecting Professor Dumbledore, or another professor, had intervened in that regard. Whatever the reason, they were glad to be working as the one being they were.

They were brewing a Swelling Solution that potions class. As usual, Professor Snape prowled among the class, making irritatingly degrading and rather unfair remarks to the Gryffindors, the Slytherins snickering. Draco Malfoy kept taking puffer-fish eyes from Ron and Neville. He'd attempted to do the same with the Harry and Rose being, but the Rose half had stopped him by giving him a cold and furious glare of rage. They were lucky he hadn't said anything to Professor Snape, because if that had been the case, they were certain they'd probably be punished rather severely.

As Professor Snape started to bully Neville, Hermione gave the Harry and Rose being a nod. The Rose half ducked down behind their cauldron and pulled a Filibuster firework they'd borrowed from Fred out of her pocket. Casually, the Harry half reached down with his right hand and prodded it with the end of his wand before stirring the cauldron. The Rose half saw the firework starting to fizz and sputter. Straightening, the Rose half tossed it. Mentally, the Harry and Rose being felt glad for a job well done as the firework landed exactly where the Rose half had aimed, in Goyle's cauldron. As it did, the Rose half was casually placing some other ingredients in their cauldron for their potion, the Harry half gazing down into it to ensure it had the proper consistency.

Goyle's potion exploded, showering many students in the class. The Harry and Rose being were among the lucky ones who hadn't received any. Pandemonium broke out, people shrieking as the potion splashed them. It seemed that they now knew one way of testing students potions, the Harry and Rose being thought with amusement as they watched the happenings.

Malfoy, who had received a face full of the potion, shouted as his nose began swelling like a balloon. Goyle was stumbling around, hands over his eyes which had expanded to the size of a dinner plate. Professor Snape was trying to calm everyone and find out what had happened. The Harry and Rose being saw Hermione slip into Professor Snape's office, who rose his voice to get attention.

"Silence! Silence! Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draft! When I find out who did this..."

The Harry and Rose being spotted Malfoy who's head was drooping, nose the weight of a small melon, as he trundled up to Professor Snape's desk. Many others followed with arms like clubs or giant, puffed up lips. Hermione slipped back into the dungeon, the front of her robes bulging with the ingredients they needed. When everyone who needed it had taken some of the antidote, Professor Snape swept to Goyle's cauldron, taking out the twisted, black remains of the firework. A sudden hush fell over the class.

"If I ever find out who threw this, I shall make sure that person is expelled." Professor Snape whispered threateningly.

The Harry and Rose being looked puzzled even as Professor Snape looked at them. Though their heart was pounding, they were glad for their ability to show different emotions, which they'd had practice to do at the Dursley home, due to pranks they'd pulled on Dudley to try and cheer them self up. Ten minutes later when the bell rang, they hurried from the dungeon with the rest of the class, walking with Ron and Hermione as usual.

"He's suspicious of me." The Harry and Rose being said as they walked toward the second floor. "For all I know, he knew I'd done something."

"Relax." Ron replied. "I'm sure he doesn't know anything."

"Sometimes I feel like he can read minds." The Harry and Rose being stated as they reached the corridor with Myrtle's bathroom.

"I doubt he can do anything like that." Hermione said, opening the door.

They entered the bathroom and went to the stall where they were brewing the potion, Hermione throwing the ingredients into the cauldron and stirring it feverishly.

"It'll be ready in two weeks." She said happily.

"Besides, Snape can't prove it was you." Ron stated after a moment, his voice reassuring. "Without any proof, what can he do?"

"Knowing Professor Snape, something thoroughly unpleasant, I assure you." The Harry and Rose being stated, gazing at the bubbling potion. 


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 The Dueling Club, the Third Attack, and Discovering the Monster

December 17, 1992.

At eight o'clock that evening, the Harry and Rose being along with Ron and Hermione went back to the great hall, having read a parchment on the notice board earlier regarding a dueling club. The Harry and Rose being were excited for this, since they'd never actually dueled before, though had begun reading about ways of blocking spells. The shield charm was quite advanced, though that wouldn't stop the Harry and Rose being from giving it a try, though it would be their first time trying such a charm.

The great hall's configuration had changed quite a bit, though it seemed like a reasonable thing to do. A golden stage was along one wall and the long dining tables were gone. The stage was lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. Most of the school was gathered underneath the black ceiling, carrying their wands and looking excited.

"You gunna get out your wand, mate?" Ron asked the Harry and Rose being.

"Sure, when we start." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"I wonder who'll be teaching us?" Hermione enquired as they joined the crowd. "Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young, maybe it'll be him."

"I'd like that." The Harry and Rose being said, then caught sight of Professor Lockhart and sighed. "Great."

The Professor was followed by Professor Snape and the Harry and Rose being watched, though privately thought this entire thing was going to go down hill fast. Professor Lockhart's knowledge of spells seemed next to none. Professor Snape, on the other hand, they'd never actually seen duel before. They didn't think he was anything like Professor Lockhart, though, and found them self hoping Professor Snape would wipe the floor with him.

Professor Lockhart waved a hand for silence and called, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions, for full details, see my published works.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape." Professor Lockhart flashed his familiar wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry, you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?" Ron muttered in the Harry half's ear.

"Oh, please, Lockhart's going down." The Harry half whispered back.

Professor Snape's upper lip was curling and he had a very unpleasant sneer on his face. It was the type of look that, had the Harry and Rose being received, they wouldn't be smiling at, and would probably be thinking of leaving.

The two Professors turned to face one another. Professor Snape jerked his head in an irritable manner and Professor Lockhart bowed, twirling his hands to put on a show. They then straightened up and rose their wands like swords in front of them.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course." Professor Lockhart told the silently waiting crowd.

"Professor Snape looks angry enough to." The Harry and Rose being muttered.

"One... Two... Three..." Professor Lockhart began.

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and aimed them at the other. Professor Snape shouted, "Expelliarmus!" The Harry and Rose being watched the dazzling flash of red light as the disarming charm hit him, sending him flying off the stage and slamming into a wall, where he sprawled to the floor. Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins were cheering. Hermione was dancing on her tiptoes.

"Do you think he's all right?" She squealed frantically through her fingers.

"Who cares." Ron responded.

The Harry and Rose being watched Professor Lockhart getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end. He started walking unsteadily back to the platform and said, "Well, there you have it! That was a Disarming Charm, as you see, I've lost my wand, ah, thank you, Miss Brown, yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy, however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..."

Professor Snape was looking murderous. Professor Lockhart seemed to have noticed, though, as he said, "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me..."

The two Professors walked about and began putting everyone into pairs. Professor Lockhart put Neville Longbottom with Justin Finch-Fletchley and Professor Snape reached the four.

"Time to split up the dream team, I think." Professor Snape sneered. Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Mr. Potter..."

The Harry and Rose being stepped toward one another and Professor Snape smirked maliciously.

"I don't think so." Professor Snape stated coldly. "Mrs. Potter, with Miss Greengrass. Mr. Malfoy, come over here. Let's see what you make of the famous Mr. Potter. And you, Miss Granger, you can partner Miss Bulstrode."

Malfoy strutted over with two girls behind him. One was smaller than the other with blond hair, her blue eyes flicking to the Rose half, who moved off to join her. The Harry half stepped over to join Malfoy, glancing at the girl Hermione was paired with. She was large and square, with a heavy jaw that jutted aggressively.

Professor Lockhart was back on the platform and called, ""Face your partners! And bow!"

The Harry half and Malfoy inclined their heads slightly, not taking their wands off one another. The Rose half and Daphne Greengrass bowed more elegantly, straightening to gaze at each other.

"Wands at the ready!" Professor Lockhart shouted, the Harry and Rose being flicking their wrists to get their wands from their holsters. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents, only to disarm them, we don't want any accidents. One, two..."

Malfoy cast his spell at the Harry half who said with a calm concentration, "Protego."

"Three!" Professor Lockhart finished his count at the same moment.

The spell Malfoy had cast hit the Harry half, who felt a sharp tap on his head, the shield having blunted the effect of the spell a little. At the same moment, the Harry and Rose being and Greengrass shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

The Harry and Rose being focused on disarming their opponents and red light flew from their wands. Greengrass was hit and her wand flew high, flipping as it headed toward the Rose half. The same happened to Malfoy, who jumped up angrily to grab it as the Rose half watched Greengrass leap for hers. Both grabbed them and Malfoy shouted, "Tarantallegra!" Greengrass shouted, "Glacius!"

The Harry half's legs started to jerk around uncontrollably and the Rose half slipped on the ice Greengrass had conjured on the floor. As the Rose half tumbled and fell, she aimed her wand at the icy floor as Professor Lockhart shouted, "I said disarm only!"

The Harry half aimed his wand at himself and the Harry and Rose being called, "Finite Incantatem!"

The ice vanished and the Harry half's legs stopped moving. The Harry and Rose being spun to face their opponents and shouted a spell neither had tried yet, "Stupefy!"

Red lights flew from their wands, the Harry half's stunner hitting Malfoy, the Rose half's hitting Greengrass. Both stumbled and looked a little woozy, blinking and struggling to focus. The Harry and Rose being watched their respective opponents, but before they could continue, Lockhart shouted, "Stop! Stop!"

They looked around after Professor Snape shouted, "Finite Incantatem!"

An odd haze of green smoke hung over the seen. Neville and Justin were panting on the floor. Ron was apologizing to and holding Seamus up, his face ashen. Hermione and Millicent Bulstrode were still moving, Bulstrode holding Hermione in a headlock. The Rose half leapt over and wrenched Bulstrode off Hermione, who had been whimpering in pain.

"Dear, dear..." Professor Lockhart was looking a little flustered as he looked at the aftermath of the duels, walking throughout the students. "Up you go, Macmillan... Careful there, Miss Fawcett... Pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second, Boot..."

He trailed off a moment, then stated, "I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells." He glanced at Professor Snape, who's black eyes were glinting. "Let's have a volunteer pair, Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you..."

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart." Professor Snape interrupted, gliding over like a large, malevolent bat. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Nevillele's round, pink face went even pinker at Professor Snape's pronouncement. The Harry and Rose being felt a wave of irritation. "How about Malfoy and Potter?"

Professor Snape added the last part with a twisted smile. The Harry and Rose being felt resignation, but also a determination to concentrate on the shield spell harder this time.

"Excellent idea!" Professor Lockhart gestured the Harry half and Malfoy to the middle of the hall, the crowd backing away to give them more room. The Rose half stayed at a reasonable distance, holstering her wand by pushing it back into her holster gently, which pulled it in.

"Now, Harry, when Draco points his wand at you, you do this."

He rose his wand, attempted what looked like a complicated wiggling action, then dropped it. Professor Snape smirked and the Harry and Rose being stifled a chuckle. Professor Lockhart quickly picked up his wand and said, "Whoops, my wand is a little overexcited."

Professor Snape moved closer to Malfoy and whispered something in his ear. Malfoy smirked and the Harry half looked over at Professor Lockhart.

"I know the shield charm, Professor, I just need to practice." He said.

"Excellent, no better time to practice than now, eh?" Professor Lockhart responded with an enthusiastic smile and cuffed the Harry half merrily on the shoulder. "Three, two, one, go!"

The Harry half and Malfoy rose their wands. The Harry half shouted, "Protego!" At the same moment, Malfoy shouted, "Serpensortia!"

A long, black snake shot out of the end of Malfoy's wand and fell to the floor heavily between them. It rose itself, ready to strike. People were screaming and backing swiftly away. The Rose half held her ground, closer than many of the other students and the Harry and Rose being stood, motionless.

"Don't move, Potter." Professor Snape said lazily, enjoying the Harry half's predicament. "I'll get rid of it..."

"Allow me!" Professor Lockhart shouted, brandishing his wand at the snake.

There was a loud band and the snake flew ten feet into the air, falling back to the floor with a loud smack, enraged. Hissing furiously, it moved toward Justin Finch-Fletchley, raising itself again, fangs exposed. Acting quickly, the Harry and Rose being started striding quickly over, shouting with a bit of a hiss in their voices, "Leave him alone!"

The snake sank to the floor in coils, eyes on the Rose half who stopped moving, the Harry and Rose being realizing it wouldn't attack anyone now. It seemed to be listening to them, and no longer seemed enraged. The Rose half looked over at Justin with a grin, then the Harry and Rose being's grin dropped when they realized Justin wasn't looking relieved or even grateful. Instead, he was looking angry and scared.

"What do you think you're playing at?" He shouted. Before the Harry and Rose being could say anything, Justin turned and stormed out of the great hall.

Professor Snape stepped forward and waved his wand, the snake vanishing in a puff of smoke. He was staring at the Harry and Rose being with a shrewd, calculating look that they didn't like. They could hear the crowd muttering in an ominous way, then felt tugging at the backs of their robes.

"Come on. Move, come on." Ron's voice said urgently into the Harry half's ear.

"Let's go, Rose." Hermione's voice was just as urgent in the Rose half's ear.

The Harry and Rose being hurried from the hall at Ron and Hermione's guidance. As they moved, people drew away from them as if they were frightened of catching something. The Harry and Rose being received no explanations as they were led to the Gryffindor common room, walking in silence and thinking about the hissing they'd heard as they'd spoken. If it wasn't for that, they wouldn't have realized they were speaking any differently. Given that they'd heard that slight hissing in their voices, and the snake had listened to them, the Harry and Rose being thought it reasonable that once again, they'd spoken with a snake, though this time, it was the Harry and Rose being and not just the Harry half.

As they thought about the hissing they'd heard in their voices, they realized it sounded familiar. They'd heard something similar before. As they approached Gryffindor tower, they tried to remember where they'd heard it from. They couldn't quite remember, but they knew they'd heard something unusual. After a moment's thought, they tried to remember anything unusual that had happened to them recently. There was Professor Lockhart removing the Harry half's bones in an arm, and that very same night, Colin had been petrified. That led them to the memory of the Rose half being ripped away from the Harry half, something that had frightened them at the time, though didn't anymore. Before that had happened, they'd heard the cold voice stating it was time to kill. That was it, the Harry and Rose being realized. That voice had the same type of hissing they'd had, though not precisely the same. It was close enough, though, and they felt certain it was that of a snake.

At that moment, the Harry and Rose being clambered into the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Hermione, who pushed each half into arm chairs next to each other. Ron then said, "You're a Parselmouth. Why didn't you tell us?"

"What?" The Harry and Rose being asked, confused.

"A Parselmouth!" Ron exclaimed. "You can talk to snakes!"

"I know." The Harry and Rose being replied casually. "That's the second time I've done it. The first time, I accidentally vanished the glass on a boa constrictor's display in a zoo. That was after it used gestures to tell me it was bred in captivity, and really wanted to visit Brazil. That was last year before I knew I was a wizard and witch."

"A boa constrictor told you it wanted to visit Brazil?" Ron repeated faintly.

"Yeah." The Harry and Rose being responded. "What's the big deal, anyway? Why was everyone staring at me like I had some type of disease?"

"What you have... It's not a very common gift, Harry and Rose being... This is bad." Ron stated.

"I doubt that. It would be a lot worse if I hadn't told the snake to leave Justin alone." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Let me guess, this is one of those cases where people have some story about something, associate it with evil, and move on without even searching for an explanation?" The Harry and Rose being's voice rose as they felt anger pouring through them.

"Such is the wizarding world." Hermione said in a hushed voice. "Harry and Rose being, talking to snakes is what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent."

"And given what we know, he wasn't exactly a nice wizard." The Harry and Rose being responded in a shocked voice. "Now they probably think I'm related to him or something."

"Yeah, I bet they will." Ron replied.

"You don't think I'm evil now, do you?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"We have more sense than the rest of them, Harry and Rose being." Hermione responded with a smile. "But for all you know, you could be related to Salazar Slytherin. But being able to talk to snakes doesn't make you evil, it just makes you a little different, that's all."

"I was thinking about what I'd gone through before being petrified as the two of you were taking me to the common room." The Harry and Rose being said after a moment. "Hearing my voice, it sounded like it had a bit of a hiss to it even though, mostly, it sounded the same as always. If the Rose half didn't have such sensitive ears, I probably wouldn't have been able to pick it up. That hiss is very close to the hiss I heard along with the voice the Rose half heard before she was petrified."

"You think Slytherin's monster is a snake of some kind?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know what kind." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Let's tally the events, though."

"Wait, let me get something to write this down." Hermione said, hurrying up the girls staircase. She returned a minute later with some parchment, a quill, and ink. "Okay, ready."

"First, the voice had a hissing to it, circumstantial perhaps, but enough to make me think it's a snake. Second, it petrified the Rose half when she saw the reflection of its yellow eyes in the puddle of water." The Harry and Rose being paused.

"Keep going, anything else?" Hermione asked.

"Scorch marks were found at the crime seen, possibly unrelated but who knows. Spiders were fleeing the area as if frightened, and we know that's where it was. Oh, yeah, Colin saw it through his camera and was petrified, and whatever happened burnt the inside, maybe only the film, though." The Harry and Rose being continued.

"Anything else?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think so." The Harry and Rose being responded. "That's all I can think of."

"I think we should all take a copy of this." Hermione said, writing her list on three other pieces of parchment. "Let's look for any snakes with these characteristics."

"What if it's not a snake, what if it's something else?" Ron asked as Hermione finished writing on one parchment and handed it to him.

"Then we'll have eliminated something from what the monster could be." Hermione responded smartly.

"Okay, then, let's do it." The Harry and Rose being said.

As the Harry and Rose being readied them self for bed that night, they decided to speak with Justin the next day in Herbology. Even if he wouldn't believe them, they wanted to give it a try. Slipping into the warm bed, the Harry and Rose being gazed up at the ceiling, then through a gap in the curtains. It was dark out, and from the look of things, cold. In response to that, the Harry and Rose being snuggled close, glad for the Rose half's higher than normal body temperature.

When they woke the next morning, they saw a blizzard so thick they couldn't see much beyond the window. The Rose half moved to the window and pulled the curtain aside as the Harry half gathered up some clothes. After a moment of struggling to see what was outside, the Rose half turned around after closing the curtain, the Harry and Rose being showering and dressing for the day.

As it turned out, the blizzard was so bad that the last Herbology lesson of term was canceled. Professor Sprout wanted to place socks and scarves on the Mandrakes, a tricky operation she didn't want the students participating in. It was important they stay alive and grow quickly to reverse the petrification of Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey. The Harry and Rose being were disappointed about that, but decided to try and find him later on that afternoon.

They left Ron and Hermione playing chess in the common room and moved through the dark corridors in the castle. Thick snow swirled at every window and the Harry and Rose being wrapped an arm around each other as they walked, passing class rooms where lessons were taking place. Professor McGonagall seemed to be shouting at someone who had apparently turned his friend into a badger, and judging from the tone, had done so intentionally. As the Harry and Rose being walked past, they decided to check the library, wondering if Justin was using his free time to catch up on some work.

A group of Hufflepuffs who would have been in Herbology were sitting in the back of the library, and from the look of things, they were having a rather intense discussion. The Harry and Rose being walked between long lines of book shelves, scanning them and wondering what they were talking about. As they drew closer, the Rose half started to pick out what they were saying, the Harry half hearing it a few moments later.

"So anyway, I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter's marked him down as his next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter he was Muggle-born. Justin actually told him he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?" A stout boy said.

"You definitely think it is Potter, then, Ernie?" A girl with blonde pigtails asked anxiously.

"Hannah, he's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard." The stout boy said in a solemn tone. "Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue."

The Hufflepuffs murmured heavily and Ernie continued after a moment. "Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Next thing we know-Creevey's been attacked. And don't forget his soul mate, Rose. She used to be a Black, the daughter of Sirius Black, in fact. We all know how that turned out."

"They always seemed so nice, though." Hannah began uncertainly. "And, well, Harry's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. And Rose, she's hardly ever apart from him, I heard they were raised together. So, they can't be all bad, can they?"

Ernie lowered his voice and the Harry and Rose being carefully moved forward to listen.

"No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who. I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that." He dropped his voice until it was slightly louder than a whisper, then added, "That's probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter's been hiding?"

The Harry and Rose being felt furious at the insinuations and roomers about them, roomers that were so obviously untrue that they couldn't believe these people actually believed what was being said. Perhaps some didn't, though they didn't quite know for sure. They looked at each other and made them self appear calm, then strode forward and cleared their throats. The Hufflepuffs looked as if the very sight of them was the trigger that petrified them, color draining out of Ernie's face.

"Hello." The Harry and Rose being began, keeping their voices calm. "I'm trying to find Justin Finch-Fletchley."

The Hufflepuffs stared at Ernie, who asked in a quivering voice, "What do you want with him?"

"I wanted to tell him what happened with the snake at the dueling club." The Harry and Rose being responded.

Ernie bit his lips, which were white. He then took a deep breath and said, "We were all there. We saw what happened."

"You will agree, then, that the snake lowered itself to the floor and looked at me when I spoke to it." The Harry and Rose being responded.

"All I saw was both of you speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin." Ernie said stubbornly, trembling as he spoke.

"Really?" The Harry and Rose being asked coolly. "Then why do you look as if you're not quite sure, as if you're afraid of telling something you know to be a lie? And if I apparently chased it at him, why did it stop and face me after I spoke to it? You were there, after all, you saw what happened."

The Harry and Rose being were clutching hands so hard they felt pain, but didn't care. They trembled with fury, feeling the hot anger that normally existed on the full moon. Ernie looked terrified, but didn't back down.

"I told you what we saw." He said, trying to sound brave. "And in case you're getting any ideas for your next attack, I might tell you that you can trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks and my blood's as pure as anyone's, so..."

"I don't care what sort of blood you have." The Harry and Rose being replied coolly, their heart pounding so hard they heard the thud of their pulse in their ears. "Hermione Granger is my friend, you should know that by now. And she's a Muggle-born. Why would I want to attack them?"

"I heard you hate those Muggles you live with." Ernie answered swiftly.

"You are avoiding the question." The Harry and Rose being stated icily. "I'm through with this rubbish."

Turning, they walked quietly, but quickly from the library, hardly caring where they were going as they moved up the corridor. The Harry and Rose being viciously thought of shouting at the Hufflepuffs, but knew that would only serve to believe what they were spouting even more. They were probably still making roomer in the library, they thought furiously just before they slammed into something very large and solid.

"Oh, Hagrid!" The Harry and Rose being exclaimed as the Rose half stood, at the same moment holding a hand out to pull the Harry half up. "I'm sorry about that."

Hagrid's face was covered by a woolly, snow-covered balaclava but he took up most of the corridor.

"Tha's all right, Harry and Rose." Hagrid responded as he pulled up his balaclava to speak. They noticed a dead rooster hanging from one of his massive, gloved hands. He continued, "Why aren' yeh in class?"

"It's canceled because of the snow storm." The Harry and Rose being responded. "What are you doing here?"

Hagrid held the limp rooster up and explained, "Second one killed this term. It's either foxes or a Blood-Suckin' Bugbear, an' I need the Headmaster's permission ter put a charm around the hen coop."

"Oh." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Does this happen often?"

"No, jus' recently started happenin' this much, tha's why I'm goin' ter see Dumbledore." Hagrid peered more closely at the Harry and Rose being. "Yeh all right? Yeh look all hot an' bothered."

The Harry and Rose being sighed.

"Just roomers, really." They responded. "I'd better get going, Transfiguration's coming up and I need to get my books."

"See yeh later, then." Hagrid replied and the Harry and Rose being headed off, mind whirling with anger and what Ernie had been saying to his friends.

The Harry and Rose being shortly came to a dark corridor, the torches extinguished from a strong, icy draft blowing through a loose windowpane. Half way down the passage, the Harry half tripped and the Rose half caught him, pulling him back.

As the Harry and Rose being stared down at what the Harry half had tripped over, they felt as if their stomach dropped out of their bodies. Horrified, they stared at Justin Finch-Fletchley, body rigid with a look of shock on his face, glassy eyes staring at the ceiling. Slowly staring around, the Harry and Rose being spotted Nearly Headless Nick next to him, his body no longer white, but black and smoky. He floated six inches off the floor, immobile and horizontal. His head was half off and his facial expression was identical to Justin's.

The Harry and Rose being's heart was pounding even more wildly than it had before. They felt a horrified sort of terror, clutching hands tightly and staring wildly along the corridor in both directions, eyes sweeping the floor, walls and ceiling. A line of spiders was scuttling wildly away from the bodies, just as they'd moved through the window in the second floor corridor. Muffled voices of teachers came from the class rooms and the Harry and Rose being stood frozen, frantically thinking. They could leave without anyone having known they were there, but they needed to get help. If only they knew where Professor Dumbledore was, but they didn't. They struggled to breathe slower and calm their panic, jumping high into the air as a door near them opened with a bang to reveal Peeves, who shot past the Harry and Rose being, almost knocking the Harry half's glasses off as he cackled.

"Why, it's potty wee Potter! What's Potter up to? Why's Potter lurking..."

Peeves stopped partly through a somersault in midair, spotting Justin and Nick. Flipping so he was right side up, he filled his lungs with air. Before the Harry and Rose being could stop him, he shouted, "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"

Doors crashed open on either side of the corridor and students came flooding out. The scene was so chaotic for a few minutes that people kept standing in Nick and almost stepping on Justin's prone body. The Harry and Rose being were pinned against a wall as the teachers tried to restore order and quiet. Professor McGonagall came running with her class following, one of whom had black-and-white-striped hair. She used her wand to set off a loud bang, silencing them, then ordered everyone back into their classes. As the corridor cleared somewhat, Ernie arrived, panting.

"Caught in the act!" Ernie shouted dramatically, finger pointing at the Harry and Rose being, his face white.

The Harry and Rose being glared in sudden hot rage, but before they could speak, Professor McGonagall stated sharply, "That will do, Macmillan!"

Peeves, who loved to see chaos, was grinning wickedly as he surveyed the scene. As the teachers bent over Justin and Nick, he broke into song.

"Oh, Potter, you rotter, oh, what have you done, You're killing off students, you think it's good fun..."

"That's enough Peeves!" Professor McGonagall barked. Peeves flew off backward, his tongue out at the Harry half.

Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra carried Justin's body out of sight, presumably to the hospital wing. No one seemed to know what to do with Nearly Headless Nick. After some moments of thought, Professor McGonagall conjured a large fan, telling Ernie to waft him up the stares. Ernie did so, moving him like a silent black hovercraft. The Harry and Rose being were left alone with Professor McGonagall, heart still pounding as they continued clutching hands.

"This way, Potter's." She stated.

"Professor, I swear I didn't..." The Harry and Rose being began.

"This is out of my hands, Potter's." Professor McGonagall responded curtly.

In silence, they followed her around a corner where she stopped in front of a large, extremely ugly stone gargoyle.

"Lemon drop!" She called, which was apparently the password as the gargoyle sprang to life and moved aside, the wall behind it splitting in two.

Though the Harry and Rose being felt dread at what was coming, they also felt amazed. Still clutching hands, they followed Professor McGonagall on to a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward like an escalator. The wall thudded closed behind them and they were taken upward in a spiral. Slightly dizzy, they reached the top where a gleaming oak door lay ahead with a brass knocker shaped like a griffin. This must be where Professor Dumbledore's office was, the Harry and Rose being thought.

Professor McGonagall wrapped on the door, which opened silently. She beckoned the Harry and Rose being inside and they stepped past her, swallowing hard.

"Wait here." She stated, then left, closing the office door behind her.

The Harry and Rose being gazed around the office, still feeling terrified that, for sure, they were going to be expelled. Everyone thought they were the ones causing the attacks, and now, it seemed the teachers thought the same. Despite this, they found Professor Dumbledore's office the most interesting one they'd visited. The room was large and circular with funny, unfamiliar sounds within. A number of small instruments sat on spindle-legged tables, emitting puffs of smoke and whirring. Covering the walls were portraits of previous headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were sleeping in their frames. An enormous, claw-footed desk sat in the room as well, and behind it on a shelf sat the Sorting Hat.

Hesitantly, the Harry and Rose being glanced at the sleeping portraits around them and wondered if they should try on the Sorting Hat, just to make sure they'd been put in the right house. With all the talk of Slytherin's heir and the possibility of either half of them being a descendent of him, the certainty they'd once had at being put in Gryffindor had been cast into some doubt. The Harry half moved around the desk and took the Sorting Hat from its shelf, putting it on his head where it slipped, once again, down over his eyes. The Harry half stared at the blackness within the hat as the Rose half watched, then a small voice said into their mind, "Bee in your bonnet, Harry and Rose Potter?"

"Yes." The Harry and Rose being thought. "Sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask..."

"You've been wondering whether I put you in the right House." The hat responded smartly. "Remember, you chose Gryffindor, that was, after all, what you had your mind set on. I still believe that you would have done well in Slytherin."

"Maybe so." The Harry and Rose being responded. "But I'm a Gryffindor."

Their thought was resolute. The Harry half pulled the hat from his head and placed it back on its shelf, sighing. They shouldn't have asked, the Harry and Rose being decided. They already knew where they belonged. The hat hadn't confirmed it, but being able to talk with snakes didn't necessarily make them Slytherin, or even Slytherin's heir.

The Harry and Rose being turned suddenly as they heard a strange, gagging sound behind them. The Harry half moved to stand next to the Rose half as they stared at a very ugly looking bird who resembled a half-plucked turkey, and looked half dead. It stood on a golden perch behind the door, and from the look of things, was going to die any moment. The bird looked back, eyes dull, a couple more feathers falling from its tail. The Rose half stepped closer and asked quietly, "Is there anything I can get you?"

The Harry and Rose being didn't want Professor Dumbledore's bird to die in the office while they were there, it would no doubt be another thing they'd be blamed for that wasn't their fault. Quite suddenly, the bird burst into flames and the Harry and Rose being jumped, startled. They knew no charms to produce water and stared frantically around for any, but found none. The Harry and Rose being backed into the desk as the bird became a raging fireball. It gave a loud shriek, leaving behind a smoldering pile of ash on the floor. As the office door opened and a very somber looking Professor Dumbledore entered, the Harry and Rose being turned to stair at him with partly shock and mostly panic.

"Professor, I'm sorry, your bird I couldn't do anything! He... Caught fire!" The Harry and Rose being said quickly.

He smiled and the Harry and Rose being felt even more shock and astonishment, then a cold pit of fear. They knew they weren't thinking quite clearly, but perhaps Professor Dumbledore was a bird killer. No, that couldn't be it, could it?

"About time, too. He's been looking dreadful for days; I've been telling him to get a move on." Professor Dumbledore said.

"You wanted it to die?" The Harry and Rose being asked, horrified. "Why would you do that?"

"Oh, no, you misunderstand." Professor Dumbledore responded. "Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry and Rose. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him..."

The Harry and Rose being looked down at the ashes on the floor, and within them, a tiny, wrinkled bird was poking its head out. It looked as ugly as the old one.

"It's a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day." Professor Dumbledore said as he sat behind his desk. "He's really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

As Professor Dumbledore settled himself in his chair behind his desk and fixed the Harry and Rose being with his penetrating gaze, everything rushed back to them. It had left their mind for a moment with the shock of the phoenix catching fire, but now that it had worn off, they remembered what had happened. Before Professor Dumbledore could say anything, however, the office door burst open with a bang and Hagrid burst in, a wild look in his eyes, balaclava on his head, the dead rooster swinging from his hand.

"It wasn' Harry an' Rose, Professor Dumbledore!" Hagrid said urgently. "I was talkin' ter them seconds before that kid was found, they never had time, sir..."

Professor Dumbledore tried to speak, but Hagrid went on, waving the rooster wildly around in agitation and sending feathers everywhere.

"It can't've bin them, I'll swear it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic if I have ter..."

"Hagrid, I..." Professor Dumbledore tried to say.

"Yeh've got the wrong people, sir, I know they never..."

"Hagrid, I do not think Harry and Rose attacked those people." Professor Dumbledore stated loudly.

"Oh." Hagrid responded, rooster limply at his side as he looked embarrassed. "Right. I'll wait outside, then, Headmaster."

He then left the room, closing the office door behind him.

"You don't think it was me?" The Harry and Rose being asked hopefully as Professor Dumbledore brushed feathers from his desk.

"No, Harry and Rose, I don't." Professor Dumbledore responded, his face once again somber. "But I still want to talk to you."

The Harry and Rose being waited, feeling nervous as Professor Dumbledore considered them, the tips of his long fingers together.

"I must ask you, Harry and Rose, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me, anything at all." Professor Dumbledore said gently.

The Harry and Rose being thought carefully about what they were going to say. After a long moment, they decided that it was time to get answers from Professor Dumbledore, and perhaps give some in return.

"Yes, Professor, there is." They began, pulling the list Hermione had made from the Rose half's pocket. "Do you have a quill and some ink I can borrow?"

Professor Dumbledore opened a drawer in his desk and handed them a quill and ink. The Rose half took them and added the recent deaths of the chickens to the list, along with their ability to speak with snakes. Slowly, the Rose half slid the parchment across the desk and Professor Dumbledore gazed pensively down at it.

"If my guess is correct on this matter, and admittedly, it may not be..." Professor Dumbledore paused and looked up at them, his face grave. "The creature that has been attacking the students may be a Basilisk."

"A what?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"A Basilisk." Professor Dumbledore repeated. "If my information is correct, it can cause death from its gaze. Spiders are known to flee from it, as the Basilisk is their mortal enemy. Admittedly, I don't recall all the specifics of information about it, but that, I believe, is the most relevant."

"What about the roosters deaths, is that related?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"It may be." Professor Dumbledore looked on thoughtfully for a moment. "Yes, I believe that it may be. A roosters crow is, I believe, deadly to the Basilisk. One question remains, however. Such a large snake would be quite visible. How, then, is it moving through the school without notice?"

"I'm not sure." The Harry and Rose being responded, thinking hard. "When I heard the hissing voice of the snake, I didn't see anything until... Until the Rose half was torn from me and petrified. No one else heard the voice, so it would have to seem natural to others, since all they'd hear is a hissing sound since they can't speak to snakes as I can."

The Harry and Rose being tried to consider what would hiss, sound natural, and not be suspicious to others. They couldn't think of anything, though thought it might be a good riddle for Hermione to solve.

"Perhaps," Professor Dumbledore stated thoughtfully. "It is moving through the plumbing."

"Pipes?" The Harry and Rose being asked curiously. "Well, it would sound natural to others, they can hiss sometimes. But could they really hold a snake like that, if you say it's quite large?"

"I believe so." Professor Dumbledore responded. "And, if I'm correct, you have assisted me in solving a nearly fifty year old mystery."

"What d'you mean, Professor?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Do you know of a ghost known as Moaning Myrtle, Harry and Rose?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, we've met her." The Harry and Rose being responded, thinking briefly of the Polyjuice Potion brewing in her bathroom.

"Her name is Myrtle Elizabeth Warren, and she was killed in the year 1943. She was a Muggle-born witch, lending further credence to my theory that the attack on you, Rose, was a mistake." Professor Dumbledore responded. "More than that, however, given this information, I believe the original perpetrator of these attacks is not Hagrid, as many may believe. I believe that it is, in fact, Tom Marvolo Riddle, now known as Lord Voldemort."

"I see." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Somehow, he's once again here, but with a different purpose. Nevertheless, he'll be after me again, I doubt he'll stop at two attempts to kill me."

"To state he is here is based only upon what I told you, that it is my belief Tom Marvolo Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets nearly fifty years ago. We cannot know for certain that he is here again." Professor Dumbledore stated.

"And about him not giving up in his attempts to kill me?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "I presume I'm correct about that."

Professor Dumbledore sighed and looked down at the desk, frowning heavily.

"It would not surprise me to learn such a thing is accurate." Professor Dumbledore responded.

"Since I've helped you answer some questions, I'd like to ask you to answer one of mine." The Harry and Rose being said.

Professor Dumbledore looked up at them.

"I shall do so, unless, of course, I have good reason to withhold the information. I will, however, be truthful with you." Professor Dumbledore stated.

"I want to know why Voldemort tried to kill me when I was a young baby, and why he tried again last school year. If he's going to continue trying, I need to be prepared, I need to know why." The Harry and Rose being said.

Professor Dumbledore sighed very deeply and looked down again.

"Please, Professor, don't evade. Don't hide the truth. Don't say I'm not old enough, or that I don't need such a burden put on me this young. I want to know. I deserve to know. And I think I have the right to know." The Harry and Rose being responded, heart pounding with nervousness at confronting the most powerful wizard they knew.

"You are, indeed, correct on all counts." Professor Dumbledore said. "However..."

The Harry and Rose being felt a wave of terrified fear at what they were about to do, but also felt a bit of anger at Professor Dumbledore's seeming unwillingness to provide them with the information they wanted.

"Professor, please give me a good reason. A really, really good reason, such as the world will end if I tell you. Or perhaps, it will kill you to know. Will it kill me to know, Professor?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"No, it will not kill you to know." Professor Dumbledore responded gravely. "And the world will not end should you obtain such knowledge, but I warn you, the knowledge you seek will change your life forever, and not, perhaps, for the better."

"Tell me." The Harry and Rose being stated, blue and green eyes blazing with determination, faces set. "I ask you, Professor, to tell me. If all the knowledge will do is change my life, maybe give me some grief, I can handle that. Don't try and protect me from it. I want to face it head on, deal with whatever it is now."

For a long moment, there was silence in the office accept for the whirring of professor Dumbledore's instruments. It felt like minutes that Professor Dumbledore observed them with a deep, penetrating gaze. Finally, he stated, "Then you shall know." 


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 Truths

Professor Dumbledore briefly spoke with Hagrid, dismissing him as he told him he had more to speak about with the Harry and Rose being than he'd anticipated. He then returned to the office and conjured a squashy, comfortable looking arm chair that both halves of the Harry and Rose being could sit in together. They did so, glad for that, Professor Dumbledore sitting behind his desk and gazing at them with a heavy expression.

"I shall not begin, as you may wish, at the beginning. However, I will tell you all that you wish to know." Professor Dumbledore began.

"Why not at the beginning?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Because the first confession I make to you will be, perhaps, the most difficult for you to hear." Professor Dumbledore stated. "It was I who left you at the Dursley's."

"You left me there?" The Harry and Rose being asked coolly. "Do you realize how difficult it's been to live there with those people? They don't care for me at all!"

"If you will allow me to speak, I will inform you of my reasoning." Professor Dumbledore said.

The Harry and Rose being didn't respond, only looked on angrily.

"You will recall your last encounter with Voldemort, how Professor Quirrell, who was being possessed by him, was unable to touch you." Professor Dumbledore responded. "That magic of which I speak, the sacrifice of Lilly Potter for you both, kept you safe during that encounter. It is also a magic which Voldemort chooses to have little or no understanding, a magic he despises, that of love.

"At the time when I left you on the door step of your aunt, my priority was to keep you protected. I reasoned that, being soul bound, that protection would carry over from you, Harry, to Rose. I chose to leave you both at the Dursley home, where your aunt, Lilly Potter's sister, would take you in and keep you safe from those wishing to harm you. You see, the protection the Dursley's home offers not only yourself but them, is stronger than any that I could have erected myself, for if that had not been the case, I would have left you with a wizarding family who would have been far more kind and caring than the Dursley's.

"However, knowing my protection would eventually fail, and keeping in mind that Voldemort had been vanquished hours before, I made my choice. I knew that many of Voldemort's supporters would attempt to kill you both, as they were angry, violent, and desperate. I knew also that Voldemort would return one day, that he is not truly dead, even now. And so, you were kept safe from those who wished you harm.

"There was, however, an unanticipated difficulty. I had originally planned to leave you with Sirius Black once he could be found, or perhaps Sarah Black, as I reasoned the same protection may carry over to them, but before I did so, I needed to verify that I was correct. Though they were not the ones who sacrificed their lives for you, I have little doubt that they would. However, the night that I left you with the Dursley's was the same night I discovered Sirius Black's betrayal."

"I don't believe he betrayed the Potter's." The Harry and Rose being replied. "There's hardly any evidence to prove that's the case."

The Harry and Rose being saw Professor Dumbledore look thoughtful, almost proud.

"Might I ask you to explain?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"There was one finger left behind from the man Sirius Black supposedly killed, only one. There was nothing else found from the explosion, and if Peter Pettigrew was killed there, you'd think there would have been more to find." The Harry and Rose being responded. "He was put in Azkaban with no trial at all, no chance to defend himself."

"You must understand, that at the time, desperation to round up all of Voldemort's supporters was quite high." Professor Dumbledore admitted. "It was common knowledge by that time of Sirius Black's role in the protection of the Potter's. Since they were, obviously, quite dead, the conclusion drawn was that he betrayed them. The evidence fit the facts, and indeed, he was found laughing at the scene of the crime. That only re enforced the conclusion reached."

"What if Peter Pettigrew left his finger there intentionally and escaped somehow? What if he's still alive, and he was the trader?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"To our knowledge, he was not the secret keeper." Professor Dumbledore replied. "I presume you are familiar with what I speak."

"The Fidelius Charm." The Harry and Rose being said. "I've read about it during my free time, I was curious to learn about it a little more than the news article I'd read last year. But, answer this, Professor. Is it possible for the Potter's to have switched secret keepers to protect Sirius Black, or keep themselves safer?"

"Perhaps." Professor Dumbledore responded thoughtfully. "It is certainly something they could have done, but we have no evidence to prove that being the case. We also have no idea how Peter Pettigrew might have escaped. I briefly entertained the possibility of him being an Animagus, one who can transform into an animal, but dismissed the possibility when I discovered he was not listed in the records of registered Animagi, of which there are, I believe, only seven for this century."

"What about an unregistered Animagus?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"That is admittedly more unlikely, and a thought I hadn't entertained." Professor Dumbledore stated.

"I assume injuries that someone has in their human form will carry over to their animal form?" The Harry and Rose being asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, the opposite also being true." Professor Dumbledore replied.

"And how long do rats live, Professor? In the magical world, that is, one that has no particular abilities, ordinary as far as anyone knows." The Harry and Rose being said.

"Typically, between three to five years." Professor Dumbledore responded.

"Ron has a rat who's lived at least eleven." The Harry and Rose being replied. "It has a missing toe on it. That could be him."

"Curious." Professor Dumbledore said under his breath.

"I didn't realize it until now." The Harry and Rose being went on. "But when you brought up the possibility of people turning into animals, and Peter having missed a finger, I remembered why I wanted to know earlier this summer. I dismissed it earlier too, thought it was just a property of magical rats. I guess Ron did as well, because he never thought it was odd, nor did Percy who owned him before that."

"A plausible, though admittedly circumstantial line of reasoning." Professor Dumbledore stated. "There is a spell that can be used to reveal an Animagus, force he or she into their human form. On an animal, such a spell does nothing and is not harmful."

"If he's alive, then Sirius Black's innocent." The Harry and Rose being said. "What can we do about that, anything?"

"In fact, there is something we can do." Professor Dumbledore responded. "The remarkably intelligent Miss Granger is, I believe, working on a Polyjuice Potion in Myrtle's bathroom at this very moment, is she not?"

The Harry and Rose being felt their blood turn to ice, blood draining from their faces.

"That is to say, hypothetically, if such a thing were occurring, it is something of which I am totally unaware, and for your protection from punishment here at Hogwarts, something best kept secret." Professor Dumbledore continued casually. "I presume you understand what I am telling you."

"Yes, sir." The Harry and Rose being replied.

"Of course, should some of this potion happen to come into my possession anonymously, there would be no way to link you to its brewing, for which at such time, my plan to speak with Sirius Black and possibly retrieve him from Azkaban can proceed." Professor Dumbledore replied.

"What plan?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"One that I have just thought of, in fact, and one I shall require your assistance with." Professor Dumbledore responded. "My position, not only here at Hogwarts, but elsewhere, gives me certain abilities to bring people to and from Azkaban. I believe you are still in possession of the invisibility cloak I sent you?"

"Yeah." The Harry and Rose being said, heart beating with excitement now rather than fear.

"Good." Professor Dumbledore responded. "But, I get ahead of myself, and such a plan may be unnecessary at all, as well as overly complex. We have, I believe, digressed from the original topic of discussion, my explanation to you as to the Dursley's protection."

"But Sirius..." The Harry and Rose being began.

"Can wait a little longer." Professor Dumbledore stated. "You have asked for an explanation as to why Voldemort will not rest until you are both dead. I promised you that explanation."

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being responded. "But I want to free Sirius Black if it's at all possible to do."

"After this, I promise you that we will proceed with the first step in that endeavor." Professor Dumbledore assured.

After a moment's thought, the Harry and Rose being said, "You left off with the Dursley explanation, I think, with the difficulty of Sirius Black and your theory he could protect me."

"Ah, yes." Professor Dumbledore said. "With Sirius Black now being in Azkaban, the situation with the Dursley's became more permanent than I had originally intended. However, I still believed the protection would pass on to you, Rose. Not long after such time, I was believed to be proven wrong."

Dumbledore stood to his feet and walked past them to a cabinet beside Fawkes's perch. From it, he took a shallow stone basin with various runes carved around its edges.

"This," Professor Dumbledore explained as he walked back to the desk. "Is a Pensieve. It will allow us to view, among other things, that fateful night when I discovered your death, Rose."

"The Rose half's death?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Yes." Professor Dumbledore said gravely. "The evidence left for me to find was flawless and bore no deception that I was aware of."

Placing his wand to his temple, he seemed to take from his mind some fine strands of an odd, silvery substance that looked like neither liquid nor gas, but somewhere in between. He placed them within the Pensieve and beckoned the Harry and Rose being to stand, which they did.

"You need only lean forward and touch the memory within." Professor Dumbledore said, hand hovering over the Pensieve. "The sensation may be somewhat disorienting for you, but you will not be harmed."

Trembling a little, the Harry and Rose being reached out to do so as Dumbledore prodded the substance with his wand, which began to swirl very fast, a window forming above. The Harry and Rose being gazed down at a snow covered seen, and if they remembered correctly, this was a park near Privet Drive where they lived. Taking a deep breath, they leaned closer and their noses touched the window. The office floor lurched, tipping them head first into the memory. They spun very fast through a cold blackness before coming to stand next to Professor Dumbledore, surrounded by the snow covered park. Moments later, Professor Dumbledore appeared on their other side as they looked around with interest. The voice of a desperate woman caught their attention and they stared at Sarah Black, a woman they recognized from the Mirror of Erised the prior year.

"What's this about? Can we see them, where are they? Are you going to let me keep them now? Tell me!" She asked with desperation.

"Right here." The Harry and Rose being said in a trembling voice.

"They cannot hear you." Professor Dumbledore said in response. "Turn around."

While they'd been talking, Professor Dumbledore had gazed on at Sarah with a terrible sadness. She staggered as the Harry and Rose being turned to the left, the Professor Dumbledore in the memory stepping aside after Sarah had weakly said, "No..." He revealed a tiny Rose Potter, who looked as if she'd partly transformed into a wolf of some kind, face twisted in sheer agony, cold and lifeless. As Sarah stared at the sight, she cried out in terrible grief, shouting, "No!"

She and a man they'd not noticed before fell to their knees. The man wasn't familiar to them, though they thought they might have seen him somewhere before. His face was warn with scars, and at the moment, his expression was just as grieved as Sarah Black's own.

"Remus Lupin." Professor Dumbledore said quietly behind them, indicating the man.

The Professor Dumbledore in the memory also looked terribly grieved, tears running down his cheeks, shaking with silent sobs. It wasn't an expression that could have been faked. The Harry and Rose being's breath caught in their chest as they stared on at the scene, desperately wishing they could do something to change what had happened. It was only a memory, though, and as such, wasn't changeable.

"I am terribly sorry." The Professor Dumbledore in the memory said. His voice even shook a little, too, the Harry and Rose being noted.

There was a long few moments of silence before Remus Lupin asked, "How did this happen? She didn't transform like this before!" His voice was also trembling a little.

"I don't know, Remus." Professor Dumbledore in the memory replied weakly, sounding lost. "I just don't know."

"I have to check, have to know." Sarah said in a frantic voice.

A knife appeared with a wave of her wand as Remus Lupin and both Professor Dumbledore's watched on. Quietly, Professor Dumbledore said, "This is the irrefutable evidence that proved you were dead."

Sarah Black moved to the body of Rose, cutting it and letting a small amount of blood leak into the snow as she pulled it from her body with her wand, then cut herself and let her blood mingle with that which she believed was her daughter's. Trembling, Sarah waved her wand in a circle and stated, "Familial." The blood gathered into a sphere as Remus Lupin and the memory Professor Dumbledore watched with anticipation. Moments later, the blood vanished and a deep red light traveled from where it had been. Sarah Black screamed in grief as she fell to the ground, and from her expression, she knew her daughter was dead. It was only a moment later that she leapt up, looking furious, glaring at the Professor Dumbledore in the memory.

"You told me they would be safe, Dumbledore, you told me! Now his followers got to Rose because of your arrogance! I'll kill them first and you're next!" She shouted, turned on the spot, then vanished.

Professor Dumbledore rose his wand and the memory froze.

"If you wish to know the rest, I will show you." He stated gravely. "However, suffice it to say, Sarah Black was killed by some of Voldemort's followers who were still at large. Somehow, it was they who deceived us with a combination of Polyjuice Potion and a partial, deadly transformation to fake Rose's death."

"Yes, I want to see." The Harry and Rose being said, gripping hands and trembling.

Professor Dumbledore gave a very deep sigh and flicked his wand. The scene spun wildly around them, cold blackness pressing in from all sides until they stood on a dark, unfamiliar street. Sarah Black was striding ahead of them furiously, the Professor Dumbledore from the memory and Remus immediately setting off to follow. The Harry and Rose being hurried after them, and behind them, Professor Dumbledore followed.

"Sarah!" Remus Lupin called desperately.

Sarah spun around, blue eyes blazing with a furious, rage-filled grief.

"You shouldn't have followed me!" She screamed, enraged.

"Sarah, you are Harry Potter's family, his godmother." Professor Dumbledore from the memory began calmly.

"And you can protect him, you wouldn't even tell me where they are! I hate you!" Sarah snarled furiously. It was clear, even to the Harry and Rose being, that she wasn't thinking clearly at all. "I will find them, do you hear me? And I will kill them!"

"In your current state, it would not do for you to go up against Voldemort's death eaters." The memory Professor Dumbledore tried to explain, even as he started to pull out his wand.

"You won't stop me!" Sarah shouted wildly. "You won't stop me this time! I know where they are and I'll..."

At that moment, a blue light sped from an alley near bye and slammed into Sarah, sending her flying through the air where she slammed into what looked to be a sharp piece of metal. The Harry and Rose being ran forward as the memory Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin followed frantically, and at the same moment, the Professor Dumbledore in the memory waved his wand in the direction of a pop, the same kind which Sarah had made as she'd disappeared earlier.

"We are too late." The memory Professor Dumbledore said gravely. "For her, and for me to catch the one who did this."

Sarah Black coughed, blood spraying from her mouth. She struggled to breath in and the Harry and Rose being blinked tears of grief from their eyes. It was one thing to know of Sarah Black's death, quite another to actually see it happen. They gasped in a sob as Sarah let out a whimper of pain. Professor Dumbledore from the memory waved his wand at her and she floated gently to the street. He muttered words under his breath, frantically waving his wand over her and vanishing the metal piece of fence from her body, a powerful magical field of some kind containing the blood. The Harry and Rose being whimpered in grief and Professor Dumbledore sighed deeply again behind them.

"Protect, Harry..." Sarah stated weakly, her eyes blazing. "Protect... Him... If you have... Any... Good..."

"I promise you that I shall do all that I can." The memory Professor Dumbledore stated, summoning what looked to be an old garbage bag, cleaning it with a wave of his wand, then tapped it and made it glow blue. This seemed to have some significant's, as the Professor Dumbledore from the memory shoved it into Sarah's hand, grabbed it, then Remus Lupin touched it as well.

Color and light began appearing all around them, and from the look of things, the three were spinning very quickly. The scene of what looked to be some sort of magical hospital appeared and Professor Dumbledore grabbed Sarah before she slammed to the floor. Several individuals wearing lime-green robes with an emblem of a wand and bone, crossed, was on their chests. As they hurried over, Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin stepped back, one of the people waving a wand over Sarah, a tall witch.

"Healers." Professor Dumbledore explained as the woman's face drained of all color.

"No pulse, no heartbeat, infected with a fatal poison." She announced, then sighed. "I'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do."

"I want to know what poison infected her." Remus Lupin replied in a cold, angry voice. "Can you find out?"

"I'm afraid not, but given that it's already starting to degrade within her blood, it's likely one of the rare, fast acting ones assassins have been known to use, the names of which have been lost over time. I'm sorry, sirs, this is all I can provide you with." The woman stated in reply, her voice compassionate and caring.

"And that, I'm afraid, is that." Professor Dumbledore said, grabbing their elbows.

They rose up through the cold, spinning blackness and were deposited back in Professor Dumbledore's office. Weak with grief, the Harry and Rose being sank into the chair behind them, trembling quietly, silent tears rolling down their faces.

"I warned you it would be difficult." Professor Dumbledore said with a heavy sigh. "But now you know one piece of information which I wished not to burden you with so young. As you likely inferred, the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, knew she would come to that location and planned for that eventuality."

The Harry and Rose being felt weighed down with the powerful grief in their mind, their thoughts of Sarah Black's death running over and over in their mind. They clung to each other and shook with sobs, crying into their shoulders. Sarah Black was dead and had been for a long time, but such knowledge didn't make it any easier to bear.

"Do you wish to know the rest now, or shall we save it for another day?" Professor Dumbledore asked in a quiet, respectful tone.

The Harry and Rose being pulled away from one another and wiped their eyes, sniffing and taking deep breaths.

"Now." They said quietly. "I want to know it all now."

"Very well." Professor Dumbledore said in a heavy tone, pulling yet more strands of memory from his head with his wand, placing them in the stone basin.

"With the apparent, irrefutable evidence of Rose's death, I realized the flaw in my reasoning." Professor Dumbledore continued as if he'd never stopped to show them the memories. "It seemed that the protection only covered Harry, not Rose, so I watched. I made certain Harry was protected, just as Sarah Black had promised I do. And indeed, there were some attempts made on his life, all of them failures.

"You can imagine how I felt when Professor McGonagall came to me almost ten years later, reporting that you, Rose, were indeed alive. I knew then that I had been deceived, and also knew that my plan to protect both of you had worked better than I had imagined. As I had hoped and planned, you showed up at Hogwarts, Harry, and though unanticipated, you with him, Rose. I knew that leaving both of you at the Dursley's would be a hard and difficult life, but you would be protected, which was, as I stated before, my top priority.

"Having more time to think about and consider the protection given to you by Lilly Potter's sacrifice, I came to the conclusion that, as long as you shall call the Dursley home your own and return there at least once a year, you both shall be protected there. The shield of Lilly's love lives on within you, Harry, and her sister. It wasn't until the end of your previous year at Hogwarts that I came to realize that protection also extended to Rose, and I came to more fully accept your single soul bond.

"You were not as happy or as well nourished as I would have liked when you both arrived at Hogwarts, but you were safe, and acted not as a pampered little prince or princess. You were both as normal as I could have hoped under the circumstances. I knew, then, that my plan thus far was working well.

"I am certain you recall the events of your first year as I do. You met Voldemort once again, much sooner than I had anticipated, but showing more courage and bravery than I could have imagined. Again, you survived, delaying his rise to power. I was prouder of both of you than I can express.

"And yet, though I had such a wonderful plan, it also had a serious flaw, an obvious one that could undue everything I had sought to achieve. Knowing how important it was for my plan to succeed, I told myself that I would not permit this flaw to ruin it. I alone could prevent this, so I alone must be strong. And here was my first test, as you lay in the hospital wing."

"What d'you mean?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Don't you remember asking me why Voldemort wanted to kill you?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

The Harry and Rose being nodded.

"I ought to have told you then, no?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"I would have preferred that you did, but you didn't." The Harry and Rose being replied. "To protect me, keep me from knowing the truth, save me from going through this grief, perhaps?"

"Precisely." Professor Dumbledore replied. "And such is the flaw in my plan, for if I had continued, perhaps I would have never told you what you wish to know. Despite the pain the information I have thus far told you had caused, I am proud that you confronted me, glad that I was forced into telling you. Though I always have a choice, you made the situation quite clear for me, so clear that keeping the information from you now seemed quite ridiculous to do. You had shown yourself ready to hear it, so here we are."

"Why, then?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Why does Voldemort want to kill me?"

"Because a prophecy has been made about you both." Professor Dumbledore responded. "I heard the prophecy given, as it was stated directly to me. On a cold, wet night twelve years ago, in a room above the bar at the Hog's Head Inn. I had gone there to see an applicant for the post of Divination teacher, though it was against my inclination to allow the subject of Divination to continue at all. The applicant, however, was the great-great-granddaughter of a very famous, very gifted Seer, and I thought it common politeness to meet her. I was disappointed. It seemed to me that she had not a trace of the gift herself. I told her, courteously I hope, that I did not think she would be suitable for the post. I turned to leave. This is what I heard."

Professor Dumbledore rose his wand and prodded the memories within the Pensieve. A figure rose from it, draped in shawls, her eyes magnified to an enormous size behind her glasses. She slowly revolved, her feet within the basin. When she spoke, her voice was harsh and hoarse.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Half born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the dark lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have power the dark lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... Half of the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

The slowly revolving woman sank down into the basin and vanished within the silvery memories. The Harry and Rose being stared ahead. Given the information, the prophecy could only apply to them.

"You can imagine my confusion at the prophecy." Professor Dumbledore stated. "There were two individuals, two possibilities that I soon became aware of. One was yourself, Harry, but the other was Neville Longbottom."

"But he's not the one." The Harry and Rose being said with resigned acceptance. "I am, the prophecy makes that very clear. Half of the one being born can only be referring to me, I'm the only one who could have half born and another half not."

"Yes and no." Professor Dumbledore replied. "Though half of you was born, you, the whole being, was born at that moment, as the seventh month dies. Only Harry Potter's body was born, but you, Rose, having always shared a single soul with Harry, were also born at that moment. However, your body was not."

"I see." The Harry and Rose being said. "That makes sense, I suppose. But how did Voldemort mark me as his equal?"

"By giving you the scar you possess, one that has proven both blessing and curse." Professor Dumbledore responded.

"How is it a blessing, exactly?" The Harry and Rose being asked with confusion.

"You are aware when Voldemort approaches, are you not?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah." The Harry and Rose being said.

"I also suspect that, in giving you the scar the Harry half of you possesses, Lord Voldemort left a piece of himself within you that very night, giving you some of his powers. That, I believe, is why you are able to speak to snakes as you can, as well as understand them. Furthermore, in marking you in such a way, you have power of which he knows nothing of. Oddly, the power could also refer to your single soul bond, though I always suspected something more. It is my belief that you possess something Voldemort does not, and in great quantities, a force studied at the Department of Mysteries within the ministry of magic. This force is contained behind a locked door, and is known as love. Not only do you possess the mark your mother left, that of protection due to Lilly's sacrifice, but also that within yourself. You care a great deal for your friends and family, something alien to Voldemort, who possesses only followers."

"And he'll try again to kill me some time." The Harry and Rose being stated. "And only I can kill him."

"Most unfortunately, correct." Professor Dumbledore stated heavily.

"Where is Voldemort?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "And why can't he die?"

"According to my sources, Voldemort currently resides within the forests of Albania." Professor Dumbledore responded. "As to his survival, I am at a loss to explain that."

"If we don't know how he survived, I won't be able to kill him." The Harry and Rose being responded, feeling a burning determination building within them. "We have to figure out how he survived first, otherwise he'll survive again and we won't have killed him."

"Once again, I find myself proud of the strength you possess, and while I can see you wish to proceed to determine how Voldemort has survived, the effort will be ultimately futile. Instead, we can now proceed to fulfill yet another promise I told you." Professor Dumbledore stood and the Harry and Rose being did the same, he vanishing their chair with a wave of his wand.

"What's that?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Discovering if Peter Pettigrew has been hiding as Scabbers for all these years." Professor Dumbledore stated. "First, however, I will require some insurance. Proceed to the Gryffindor common room. I shall join you shortly."

The Harry and Rose being turned and left the office, proceeding down the spiral staircase and through the wall, which slid aside at their approach. As they walked down the corridor, their mind was full of thoughts of Voldemort, the prophecy they'd just heard, Sarah Black, their mother and how she'd died. They gripped hands, and silently, tears rolled down their faces. The double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick was the last thing on their minds. It seemed unimportant compared to the information they'd just learned. They were only vaguely aware of their surroundings as they moved through the corridors, and after arriving at the fat lady's portrait and giving her the password, they clambered through the portrait hole.

"Harry, Rose!" Hermione cried, leaping up from the table she and Ron had been working at and running over to them, embracing them tightly. "We just heard what happened with Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, and transfiguration was canceled!"

"And I just learned why Voldemort's after me, how my mother was killed..."

The Harry and Rose being couldn't hold their tears back any longer. They clutched Hermione who held them and patted their backs reassuringly, crying into her shoulders. Ron awkwardly stood, looking a little lost and not quite sure what to do. The Rose half stumbled over to him and threw her arms around him. After a moment, Ron hugged her and hesitantly moved his hands up and down her back.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Harry and Rose being." Ron said quietly into the Rose half's ear. "But I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Ron..." The Rose half choked.

"And I'm here for you too, Harry and Rose being. You're not alone." Hermione said.

"Thanks." The Harry and Rose being whispered, then carefully pulled away, feeling stronger somehow. "I needed that."

The Harry and Rose being moved to a couple arm chairs near the table Ron and Hermione had been playing chess at, sitting down with a heavy sigh.

"I also learned who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago." The Harry and Rose being said in a low voice. "Tom Riddle, known as Lord Voldemort."

Ron and Hermione gasped and shuttered at the name.

"Ron, Professor Dumbledore will be coming by shortly. Where is Scabbers?" The Harry and Rose being asked after a moment.

"He's here in my bag." Ron responded, pulling him out carefully and setting him on the table.

Quickly, the Rose half removed her wand from its holster and concentrated harder than they ever had on stunning the rat in front of them, twitching it to one side as Scabbers opened his eyes and started to move. A red light slammed into him and he went still, stunned. Hermione stared.

"You didn't even speak!" She said, amazed.

"Oh." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Yeah, guess not."

"An excellent example of non-verbal magic." Professor Dumbledore applauded, scooping Scabbers into his hands. "For privacy, I believe we should proceed to your room, Harry and Rose. Unless, of course, you object to that location."

"No, not at all." The Harry and Rose being stood and moved toward the door. "Can Ron and Hermione come, too?"

"If you wish." Professor Dumbledore said as Ron and Hermione hurried toward them.

"Rose, why'd you stun Scabbers? He's just a rat!" Ron said, looking indignant.

"He might be Peter Pettigrew." The Harry and Rose being said quietly to them as they opened the door, stepping into the room. Professor Dumbledore entered followed by Ron and Hermione, then the Harry and Rose being closed the door, after which Professor Dumbledore waved his wand around the room in several intricate patterns. A wave of an odd power swept through them, almost like Professor Quirrell's wards the previous year, but more welcoming somehow.

"We shall not be disturbed, and should Peter attempt escape, he will fail." Professor Dumbledore explained, placing the rat carefully on the ground before straightening.

A blue light hit Scabbers, who suddenly began to sprout up like a plant growing at high speed. Human arms and legs appeared, and a face that looked rat-like. Moments later left a fat man laying stunned on the ground. His skin looked grubby like Scabbers's fur and he was very short, only a little taller than the Harry half and Hermione.

"And now, we shall know the truth." Professor Dumbledore said, kneeling next to Pettigrew and pulling a vial of some type of clear liquid from his robes.

"What's that?" The Harry and Rose being asked curiously.

"Veritaserum, a truth potion so powerful that most cannot resist its effects." Professor Dumbledore said, carefully opening Pettigrew's mouth and pouring three drops of the potion into his mouth. He used his wand to make him swallow, then pulled him into a sitting position and aimed his wand at him, stating, "Rennervate."

Pettigrew's eyes opened, but they looked glazed. His face was expressionless.

"Can you hear me?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Yes." Pettigrew replied, his voice squeaky like Scabbers, but dull and emotionless.

"What is your name?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"What year were you born?"

"1960."

"Are you an illegal, unregistered Animagus?"

"Yes."

"What is your form?"

"A rat."

"Why that little..." Ron began.

"I implore you to remain silent, Mr. Weasley." Professor Dumbledore stated. "Peter Pettigrew, were you the secret keeper for the Potter's?"

"Yes." Pettigrew replied.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

Professor Dumbledore rose his left sleeve and the Harry and Rose being leaned closer. They saw a light image of a black skull with a snake protruding from its mouth, almost like a tattoo. Professor Dumbledore dropped his sleeve, gazing at Pettigrew with a hint of anger.

"Were you responsible for the deception of Rose Potter's death?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"No." Pettigrew responded.

"Do you know who was responsible?"

"No."

That was one mystery that wouldn't be solved soon, the Harry and Rose being thought.

"Explain what occurred between yourself and Sirius Black, how you framed him, and faked your own death." Professor Dumbledore stated.

"Sirius Black tracked me down after I ran, afraid the ministry would find me. When he did, I screamed for the entire street to hear that Sirius betrayed the Potter's. I pulled out my wand and performed a blasting curse, killing twelve Muggles. I then cut off my own finger to fake my death, transformed into a rat, and fled, leaving Sirius to get arrested for the crime I committed." Pettigrew stated.

"Well, at least we know what happened for sure, now." The Harry and Rose being coolly added.

"Indeed." Professor Dumbledore sighed, then stunned Pettigrew again before transforming him into a rat, conjuring a cage, and placing him within.

"What are you going to do?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"Make an effort to free Sirius Black." Professor Dumbledore responded. "I shall let you know if I am successful. After I reveal Peter Pettigrew to the ministry, I will proceed to Azkaban to speak with him."

"I want to come with you." The Harry and Rose being responded firmly.

"Such a journey is not to be taken lightly. The effects of the Dementors are quite powerful with some, and I suspect you would be one of the rare few to be effected strongly by them." Professor Dumbledore said.

"Why?" The Harry and Rose being asked.

"They will make you relive your worst memories." Professor Dumbledore responded. "Imagine reliving the memory of your forced separation again and again, and perhaps, even more memories than that."

The Harry and Rose being shivered a little.

"I implore you to trust my judgement, trust that I am not unwilling to allow you to see Sirius Black. However, I strongly wish to protect you from the Dementors if at all possible." Professor Dumbledore said.

"Okay." The Harry and Rose being replied quietly. "But please, do what you can."

"I shall do so." Professor Dumbledore responded, then walked from the room after removing his wards, closing the door behind him.

"That was..." Hermione trailed off, sounding shocked.

"I can't believe he was living as Scabbers all this time!" Ron burst out, shuttering a little.

"Believe it." The Harry and Rose being said somberly. "I think... I think I'd like to be alone for a while."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." The Harry and Rose being replied.

Ron and Hermione left them alone as they'd asked, and after locking their room door, they sat on their bed and quietly cried, hugging, their mind going over and over everything they'd learned. Grief weighed heavily on them and they let their emotions consume them for a time, thinking of Sarah Black, the strong, determined woman who wanted revenge for the death of her daughter, who even in her dying breath, made Professor Dumbledore promise to protect the Harry half because she cared for him equally. They thought of the prophecy, that it was only they who could destroy Voldemort, and decided, at that moment, to learn all the magic they could as quickly as they could, without sacrificing the retaining of such information. A cold determination gripped them even in their grief. Sarah Black, their mother, wouldn't want them to give up, they thought. She'd want them to carry on, to do what they must. Feeling exhausted from all the revelations, the Harry and Rose being flopped down on their bed, still hugging and crying, faces stricken with grief and determination. Without meaning to, they drifted off to sleep, their life forever changed, just as Professor Dumbledore had said it would be. 


End file.
